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Nadal was pushed to three sets after he lost a
tiebreak in the second set before regaining his momentum. The
31-year-old next faces Serbian qualifier Filip Krajinovic.
Krajinovic knocked out wild-card Nicolas Mahut of France 6-2,
3-6, 6-1.
Earlier in the day, David Goffin lost 6-3, 6-3 to French
wild-card Julien Benneteau, but Goffin still punched his ticket
to the season-ending ATP Tour finals. American Jack Sock's
7-6(6), 6-3 victory over Lucas Pouille ensured that Goffin will
be the first Belgian to qualify for the for the eight-player
event on Nov. 12-19 at The O2 in London.
Others who have already qualified for the ATP Tour Finals are
Nadal, Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov, Dominic
Thiem and Marin Cilic.
The last spot for the ATP Tour Finals is currently held by
Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta, but Argentina's Juan Martin del
Potro can bump Carreno Busta for the last spot by reaching the
semifinals this week.
The 29-year-old Del Potro, the No. 13 seed, defeated Robin Haase
of the Netherlands 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday to land a quarterfinal
spot for the third time in the Paris event.
Del Potro's quarterfinal opponent will be ninth-seeded John
Isner. The American beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(10), 5-7, 7-6 (3).
"It's extra motivation to me," del Potro said of qualifying for
the ATP Finals. "It's going to be a good battle next round
trying to qualify for London. ... Of course, I would love to
reach London for once again. It could be a fantastic moment for
me. But it's still a really hard challenge to me."
Isner has to win this week to qualify for the season-ending
event.
Other quarterfinal matches in Paris will include Benneteau
against Cilic and Sock, the No. 16 seed, against Fernando
Verdasco of Spain.
Verdasco reached the quarterfinals by defeating the fifth-seeded
Thiem 6-4, 6-4 in 84 minutes. Cilic, the No. 3 seed, eliminated
Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 7-6 (4), 6-2.
Verdasco's win was his second over a top 10 player this year.
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