Rafael Nadal cruises past John Isner into Rome quarters
Rafael Nadal produced an “almost perfect” display as he booked a place in the quarter-finals of the Rome Masters with a 6-4 6-4 victory over John Isner on Thursday.
The fourth seed, who has struggled to find his best form this season in the wake of the wrist injury and appendicitis issues that undermined him last year, was imperious against the big-serving American.
He did not face a single break point and won 90 percent of his first-service points.
“I was almost perfect,” Nadal told Sky Sports Italia. “It was a good match, I’m satisfied.”
The Spaniard, who fell to seventh in the rankings after Sunday’s final defeat to Andy Murray in Madrid, looked to be back on the path to discovering his best claycourt form.
The warm weather made the court faster and Nadal’s top-spin forehand forced Isner on the defensive, something the statuesque American does not do well.
Nadal, a seven-time champion in Rome, will face the winner of Stanislas Wawrinka’s match against Dominic Thiem.
In the women’s event, the second seed Simona Halep easily downed Venus Williams 6-2 6-1 in just over an hour while Eugenie Bouchard double faulted on match point, before losing a three-hour battle to Carla Suarez Navarro 6-7(2) 7-5 7-6(7).
Tired Andy Murray pulls out of Rome Masters
Britain’s Andy Murray pulled out of the Rome Masters on Thursday ahead of his third-round match against Belgian David Goffin.
“I felt tired this morning,” Murray told a news conference. “I practiced 40 minutes and felt pretty exhausted.
“It didn’t make sense for me to keep going because when you feel like this it becomes a risk to play.”
Murray recently won back-to-back tournaments in Munich and Madrid, the first claycourt titles of his career.
“They’ve been three very long weeks for me,” Murray added. “The longest on clay in my career.”
World number three Murray will now rest and in preparation for the French Open, which starts on May 24.
