Spain’s Rafael Nadal booked his spot in the quarterfinals of the bet-at-home Open in Hamburg, Germany, with a hard-fought 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) victory Thursday over the Czech Republic’s Jiri Vesely.
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Rafael Nadal’s summer excursion in Hamburg continued with another victory on Thursday, but the king of clay had his share of struggles.
Uruguayan Cuevas came through in three sets after outlasting Jerzy Janowicz from Poland 6-3 4-6 6-2 and will now battle it out against the Spaniard for a place in the semi-finals.
In a video interview from the ATP World Tour Website, the 29-year-old admitted that he is not at his best this season but hopes to improve his baseline game and the mental aspect of it as the days progress.
Seppi will go up against fellow Italian Simone Bolelli in the next round after the world number 71 powered down nine aces on his way to a 6-1 6-7 (5/7) 6-4 triumph over Jaume Munar.
Fish, who won the Atlanta tournament in 2010 and 2011, also will play doubles this week with his friend Andy Roddick, who is taking a break from his retirement.
Next up for Nadal is the victor of the Jiri Vesely and Andreas Haider-Maurer match which was suspended with both players tied one set apiece.
The 14-time Grand Slam champion overcame Vesely 6-4, 7-6 (2) in the second round contest that lasted two hours and 11 minutes.
Elsewhere, fourth seed Andreas Seppi regathered his composure to bounce back after going a set behind to wild card Florian Mayer.
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There were straight-sets wins for Stephane Robert of France against Brazilian Joao Souza, and Turkey’s Marsel Ilhan against Russian Andrey Kuznetsov.
