Nadal eases past Cuevas to reach Hamburg semi

Sport360 staff 05:56 01/08/2015
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  • On to the next one: Rafael Nadal.

    Top seed Rafael Nadal defeated fifth seed Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-2 on Friday to set up a Hamburg semi-final clash against Italian veteran Andreas Seppi.

    Nadal, 29, broke the Cuevas serve five times on his way to a second triumph over the Uruguayan this year, having also beaten the South American in the Rio de Janeiro quarter-finals in February.

    Nadal is playing in Hamburg for the first time since 2008, when he lifted the trophy with victory over Roger Federer, as the left-hander looks to breathe life back into his flagging season.

    “I played I think 90 per cent of the match doing the right things, doing the right shots every time and waiting for my moment,” said Nadal, who is chasing his 47th clay-court title.

    Seppi, who knocked Federer out of the Australian Open this year, enjoyed a walkover into today’s semi-finals when compatriot Simone Bolelli withdrew due to gastroenteritis.

    Seppi trails Nadal 5-1 in career clashes with his only win coming in 2008 in Rotterdam.

    “He’s a great player,” said Nadal of the Italian. “He’s a very consistent player that has very, very solid shots from the baseline and changing very well the direction.”

    The other semi-final sees French qualifier Lucas Pouille face Italy’s Fabio Fognini. World No 85 Pouille defeated countryman Benoit Paire, who was champion on clay at Bastad last weekend, 6-3, 6-2. Eighth seed Fognini beat Britain’s Aljaz Bedene 6-4, 7-5.

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    “I knew it would be tough. I was prepared for it,” said Pouille. “I succeeded in playing my best tennis today. It was a very good day. This will improve my ranking a lot. It’s been a great week and I’m hoping to get to the final.”

    Fognini, 28, is through to his first semi-final since February, when he lost to David Ferrer in the Rio de Janeiro final.

    “I’m happy to be in the semi-finals again here,” said Fognini. “I’m happy about my performance because I was playing good tennis, especially with my forehand. I have another day tomorrow to try and improve my game.”

    Meanwhile, top seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova needed barely an hour to book her place in the semi-finals of the Baku Cup after sweeping aside the challenge of Kirsten Flipkens. Pavlyuchenkova had won the only previous meeting between the two in straight sets and the Russian repeated the feat with a 6-1, 6-3 win in just 62 minutes in the Azerbaijan capital.

    The Russian will now face Patricia Maria Tig as she chases her first final appearance of the year, with the Romanian qualifier securing her spot with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Croatia’s Donna Vekic. 

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