Nadal topples Thompson to reach Paris Masters quarter-finals
Top seed Rafael Nadal is three wins away from being crowned Paris Masters champion for the first time after getting past Jordan Thompson.
Rafael Nadal will face Pablo Carreno Busta in an all-Spanish Paris Masters quarter-final after beating Jordan Thompson in straight sets.
Nadal needed three sets to secure the 1,000th ATP Tour-level victory of his career at the expense of Feliciano Lopez on Wednesday.
The top seed followed that up with a 6-1 7-6 (7-3) defeat of world number 61 Thompson in Bercy, reaching the quarter-finals of the tournament for an eighth time out of eight.
Nadal lost just 12 points behind his serve as Thompson failed to break the 20-time grand slam champion in the first meeting between the two on Thursday.
Ninth seed Carreno Busta stands in the way of Nadal and a place in the last four, as one of the all-time greats attempts to win the tournament for the first time.
Rafa gets it done!
@RafaelNadal holds off Thompson 6-1, 7-6(3) and has reached at least the QFs in all eight of his @RolexPMasters appearances.#RolexParisMasters pic.twitter.com/2HPBfzzAzg
— ATP Tour (@atptour) November 5, 2020
Nadal was up against it in a battle with veteran Lopez before sealing a landmark win, but there was no slow start from the legendary left-hander in his third-round contest.
He held to love in the first game and in the fifth, then took a 5-1 lead with a deft volley at the net after drilling a rasping return and an inside-out forehand to Thompson’s left.
The world number two wrapped up the set in only 32 minutes by winning a fifth consecutive game, but it was a different story in the second as Australian Thompson warmed to the task.
Thompson threw down his racket and was shaking his head after failing to win a set point before Nadal took it to a tie-break, which he won with a combination of thunderous winners and errors from his opponent.
