Nadal rues not converting opportunities against Norrie; keeps Slam dream alive
Rafael Nadal. Pic/Getty Images
World No. 2 Rafael Nadal accelerated his pursuit of a record 21st Grand Slam title Saturday with a testing victory over Cameron Norrie in an Australian Open battle of the left-handers.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Spanish second seed has altered his service motion due to lower-back tightness, but it didn’t stop him emphatically demolishing his first two opponents in straight sets.
Britain’s 69th-ranked Norrie proved a tougher assignment, with Nadal pressed much harder before emerging a 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 winner in an empty Rod Laver Arena as Melbourne went into a five-day COVID-19 lockdown. It put him into a Slam Last 16 for the 49th time, behind only Roger Federer (67) and Novak Djokovic (53).
“All the matches are tough...I didn’t convert the opportunities I had at the beginning of every set, so then the situation becomes a little bit more difficult.
But happy now, good feelings. Of course I need to keep improving. And then of course you are playing against the best players in the world, so it’s normal that you might suffer a bit,” he said.
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
