By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Rafael Nadal defeated Vasek Pospisil to advance to his 12th quarterfinal of the season in Beijing where he will face Jack Sock.
Photo credit: China Open
Beijing bears golden memories for Rafael Nadal, who captured the gold medal at the 2008 Olympic Games staged in China's second-largest city.
Nadal sounded like a man on a recon mission in his Beijing return.
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The third-seeded Spaniard stated a pair of primary goals—regaining his confidence and re-establishing his forehand as an offensive weapon—in his pre-tournament press conference.
Nadal did his best to translate those aims into action, hitting some timely forehand strikes to defeat Vasek Pospisil, 7-6 (3), 6-4, and advance to the China Open quarterfinals today.
"Obviously I improved from yesterday," Nadal told the media in Beijing. "Every victory gives me opportunities to keep practicing the things that I need to practice. Practicing outside of the competition is very important, but at the end you have to compete well. Every match is an opportunity for me."
The eighth-ranked Nadal will face Pospisil's doubles partner, Jack Sock, for a place in the final four. Sock won 16 of 19 points played on his first serve and needed just 59 minutes to dismiss Andreas Haider-Maurer, 6-3, 6-1.
Nadal defeated Sock, 6-3, 6-1, 5-7, 6-2, in their lone prior encounter in the Roland Garros round of 16 earlier this season.
In this first meeting between the 14-time Grand Slam champion and former Wimbledon doubles champion, Nadal used both the body serve and angled backhand chip to deny the six-foot-four Canadian rhythm and set up his forehand.
Pospisil denied break-point pressure in his opening service game. A slick stretch volley erased break point as he held for 1-all.
Nadal created complications from a 40-love vantage point in the fifth game. A double fault and a pair of unforced errors brought Pospil to deuce. Nadal answered dragging the Canadian forward with an angled chip to set up a crunching forehand pass crosscourt. He navigated a tough hold for 3-2.
Cracking an inside-out forehand winner, Pospisil earned break point in the 11th game. Confronting a low ball with a bit too much ambition and not nearly enough topspin, Pospisil netted a forehand. Nadal eventually worked through his longest service game of the set, standing strong for 6-5.
Pospisil, who hit six aces in the first set, saved a set point with a sliding serve out wide, eventually forcing the tie break. An adventurous 19-shot rally—the longest of the set—end with the Canadian missing the mark as Nadal jumped out to a 4-1 lead. Pospisil closed to 3-4, but an errant return gave Nadal three more set points. The third seed needed just one. Nadal ripped a forehand down the line that his opponent could not control ending a quality 63-minute set.
Playing with more aggression in the second set, Nadal scored the first break of the match for a 3-2 lead when Pospisil flubbed a forehand into net.
Pospisil is a sound volleyer, who won 16 of 25 trips to net, but Nadal found space in the passing lanes when required.
A slashing diagonal forehand and biting body serve helped Nadal stretch the lead to 5-3. Luring Pospisil forward, Nadal fired a forehand winner to conclude an entertaining one-hour, 47-minute match and advance to his first quarterfinal since Montreal in August.