BSP-02 Nadal, Thiem advance at rain-hit ATP Montreal Masters

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Nadal, Thiem advance at rain-hit ATP Montreal Masters

MONTREAL, Aug 8, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem advanced
into the third round of the ATP Montreal Masters on Wednesday, with Thiem
achieving a personal best in Canada.

Top-seeded holder Nadal suffered through a two-hour rain interruption
before dismissing Britain’s Daniel Evans 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.

Austrian second seed Thiem, who claimed a clay title at the weekend at home
in Kitzbuehel before crossing the Atlantic, won his first match in Canada
after five losses, defeating home hero Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

With weather forecasts dicey for the next few days, the Spanish top seed
got a taste of the conditions he might face as the 18-time Grand Slam
champion defends his Canadian title.

“Today, the main thing was win. I’ve been playing and practising more or
less well. Now is the moment to compete,” Nadal said. “Today I competed
enough well to be through. Tomorrow is another challenge.”

That test will be against Argentina’s Guido Pella, who beat Radu Albot 6-3,
2-6, 7-6 (7/2).

Nadal is seeking his third title of the season and now stands 38-6 in 2019.
He was playing for the first time since losing a Wimbledon semi-final to
Roger Federer a month ago.

Thiem was relieved to have broken his duck in Canada by finally winning a
match.

“It’s a great feeling. It’s not only the first match win here, but also
against a great player,” he said.

“The court is pretty fast. It was a huge transition from clay to here.

“I’m very happy with the way I served. I’m also happy that I could swing
free some flat serves again.”

Thiem on Thursday faces 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, who defeated
Australian John Millman 6-3, 6-4.

Nadal said that re-starting on cement after a long post-Wimbledon pause
takes some adjustment.

“This is just the first day, first matches are always tough the first time
on hardcourt,” he said.

“After Wimbledon always the mind goes down a little bit. I had a long clay
court season, then grass, so you don’t relax.

“When you finish Wimbledon, your body loses a little bit that tension, so
it needs little bit of time to recover.”

Nadal advanced after two hours of play but because of rain it took almost
four and a half hours after the first ball was struck.

– Raonic, Tsitsipas out –

Injury-prone Milos Raonic retired to hand 18-year-old fellow Canadian Felix
Auger-Aliassime a 6-3, 3-6 win.

Raonic, a 2013 finalist here, was unable to go on after winning the second
set to square the contest.

Auger-Aliassime got a walkover win against his compatriot last June on
grass in Stuttgart when Raonic suffered a back injury.

The senior Canadian beat the youngster in spring, 2018 in Indian Wells in
their only completed match.

Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas, last year’s Canada runner-up, was dumped out
6-4, 3-6, 6-3 by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, whom the world number five had
defeated in three prior matches.

Japan’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori was unable to profit from a match point,
losing in 3 hours nine minutes to Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

Spain’s 10th seed Robert Bautista Agut advanced while number 12 John Isner
was sent out in straight sets.

BSS/AFP/FI/ 0817 hrs