No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal quickly dismissed Australian Alexei Popyrin in straight sets to book his 15th quarterfinal appearance at the Caja Magica. From the start, the Mallorcan appeared to be dialed in, with blistering winners and unimaginable defense from all sides of the court. The Australian comfortably held his opening serve game, displaying some heavy and confident swinging. On Nadal’s first service game, he quickly worked his way to three break points, but he couldn’t convert due to three unforced errors in a row. Nadal quickly regained his composure and broke Popyrin in the next game, attempting to settle in for the first set. The Australian fought valiantly and wasn’t ready to surrender the first set, eventually breaking the Spaniard at 4-1. He eventually found some rhythm, but couldn’t maintain it and was broken again, giving the Spaniard the first set 6-3.
Second Set
The second set was similar, but there were fewer service game trades. Nadal’s forehand began to fire from all sides of the court, creating angles and winners that the Australian couldn’t match. The Spaniard produced a brilliant backhand slice passing shot at 4-2 in the second set, showcasing his talent in finesse and touch. Following a couple of steady service games, the five-time champion closed the match with a heavy forehand to Popyrin’s backhand, forcing him to make an unforced error from his racket.
“I think I was doing things well, even if it was difficult to play against a player like him, [since] he was trying to hit every single ball,” Nadal said. “He was hitting every ball hard. I needed to adapt and I think I did that well.”
Opponent and Look ahead
Next up for Nadal is No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev, who won in straight sets against both Kei Nishikori and Daniel Evans to set up a showdown with the Spaniard. The German had a difficult season, losing in the early rounds of his past few tournaments. Zverev is hoping to have a better season and win his first clay-court Masters title of the season. The two have met seven times, with Zverev winning their previous two encounters. Despite this, Nadal has always beaten Zverev on clay. Nadal will almost certainly be the favorite, but he’ll need to stay focused and defend his service games if he’s going to beat the heavy-hitting German.
Main Photo from Getty.
