After securing the year-end world no.1 rank with his first-round win, Rafael Nadal had to battle in the 3rd round before beating Pablo Cuevas.
When Rafa was leading the Uruguayan for 1 set and a break (6-3 2-1) everything looked set for a straight-sets win. But Pablo disagreed with that to break back Nadal (2-2) and win the following breaker. The world no.1 had a great start in the 3rd set (3-0), but once again he gave back his break (3-2) before Cuevas dropped his serve once more in the following game (4-2). After this exchange, Nadal held his service games to win the match 6-3 6-7(5) 6-3.
Next vs. Krajinovic
Rafa will face the world no.77 Filip Krajinovic for a place in the semifinal.
| IN THE QUARTERS |
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