[ad_1]
Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Paris Masters – AccorHotels Arena, Paris, France – November 6, 2020 Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during his quarter-final match against Spain’s Pablo Carreño-Busta REUTERS / Gonzalo Fuentes
PARIS – Rafael Nadal stayed on track for his first Paris Masters title by beating Spanish Pablo Carreño Busta 4-6 7-5 6-1 on Friday, a result that gave Argentine Diego Schwartzman last place in the ATP Tour Finals at the end of the season. .
The 20-time Grand Slam champion of Spain recovered from a shaky start and revved the engine near the end of the second set to clinch victory and advance to a clash with German fourth seed Alexander Zverev, who defeated Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6- 3 7-6 (1).
Carreño Busta needed to lift the trophy at Bercy, and at next week’s Sofia Open, deny Schwartzman a spot in the ATP Finals at the O2 in London after the Argentine was thrashed 6-3 6-1 by Russian Daniil. Medvedev.
The ninth seed played confidently early on as Nadal struggled to find his rank, but when the 13-time French Open champion stepped up, there was no hope for Carreño Busta.
Nadal pocketed the second set on his first opportunity with an astonishing forehand shot that set the tone for the win in the decider.
Nadal, who has now beaten Carreño Busta in his seven meetings, had only reached the final here once.
Medvedev took a 3-1 lead before sealing a one-sided first set when Schwartzman scored his eighth forehand error at the net.
The 24-year-old Russian found another march as he claimed 27 of 28 first serve points and closed out an emphatic victory with an ace on the line.
“I think Diego is capable of playing better so he didn’t show his best tennis,” said Medvedev, who had already booked a place for the season finale in London and will face Canadian Milos Raonic for a place at the Paris Masters. .
“With Diego, you know that you are going to have long rallies, so it was good for me to win in such a short time. It was a good preparation for London, even without the spectators.
Schwartzman needed a win to guarantee qualification for the ATP Finals in London, contested by the top eight players since November 15, but fell in 62 minutes.
However, it is now over after taking last place.
Raonic had to dig deep to beat 22-year-old Frenchman Ugo Humbert, saving two match points in a 6-3 3-6 7-6 (7) victory.
The 10th seed was down 6-4 in the tiebreaker, but prevailed in a 30-shot rally to save the first match point and finish off the second with a service winner.
Humbert then saved one match point, but folded in the second when Raonic hit his 25th ace of the match.
Read next
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer and more than 70 other titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download from 4am and share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.
[ad_2]
