|
The Spaniard, bidding for a ninth title at the claycourt
tournament having reclaimed his Monte Carlo crown last week,
cruised through the first set against the Italian but he went
off the boil in the second.
Fognini, who beat Nadal in the tournament last year and knocked
him out of the U.S. Open, hit back with two breaks after
trailing 0-2 in the second set and served to send the match into
a decider.
Showman Fognini saved three match points from 0-40 at 5-6, one
with an outrageous drop shot, before succumbing in the tiebreak.
Left-hander Nadal, eyeing a 10th French Open title next month,
will face Andrey Kuznetsov or Philipp Kohlschreiber in the
semi-finals.
In the other half Japanese second seed Kei Nishikori, bidding to
defend the title, beat Alexandr Dolgopolov in straight sets and
will play unpredictable Frenchman Benoit Paire for a place in
the final.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Ed Osmond)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
|
