Los Angeles: World No. 2 Rafael Nadal remained on course for his third ATP Mexico Open title by breezing past South Korea’s Kwon Soon-woo 6-2, 6-1 in their quarterfinal clash here Thursday.
Top seed Nadal eased into the semifinals with his best performance of the week as he continues to jackhammer his way through the men’s singles draw at the hardcourt event in Acapulco, Mexico.
The Spaniard finished the night with 25 winners to 11 unforced errors, and saved all eight breakpoints he faced.
“The match has been much tougher than what the result said. I think it was a beautiful match to see,” Nadal said. “It was a good match against a tough opponent. I think he’s (Kwon) going to have a very good tennis career.”
Next up for Nadal is Grigor Dimitrov, who ousted third seed Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-4 earlier in the day.
The 2014 champion Dimitrov ended a five-match losing streak against the Swiss Wawrinka. He has now won five of 12 career meetings against the Swiss.
Nadal boosted his record to 18-2 overall at this event by winning against Kwon, who kept the games close but didn’t have much to show for it in the final scoreline.
Bulgarian Dimitrov will need to end another losing streak if he wants to reach the final in Acapulco because Nadal leads their career meetings by a whopping 12-1.
“Dimitrov finished last year much better than how he had played the rest of that year. He started to play some good tennis and is showing it here, winning some very good matches,” Nadal said when asked about the semifinals. “I’m going to need my best and I hope I’m ready to make it happen,” he added.
In the other semifinal, unseeded Taylor Fritz faces fifth seed John Isner in an all-American matchup.
AFP