Shanghai Masters: Rafael Nadal narrowly edges past Ivo Karlovic in second round
Rafael Nadal survived a big scare in the second round of the Shanghai Masters Tennis Tournament, narrowly edging past the big-serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic, 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(4), reports ATP Tennis. In a match which produced some exceptional rallies from both players, Karlovic made his opponent sweat for every point and sent in a staggering 24 aces, in the encounter which lasted 2 hours and 44 minutes.
Both players had equal chances in all the three sets, but Nadal held his nerve to score a much-needed win. The Spaniard was broken in the very first game, but he responded brilliantly to eventually claim the first set. But Karlovic came back strong to win the tie-break in the second set. Another close tie-break in the third set saw Nadal inching ahead and eventually winning the match.
Interestingly, Nadal has never managed to beat Karlovic in straight sets in their previous four encounters, and today was no different. In the crucial decider, Karlovic double-faulted for the first time in the match, which proved costly, and helped Nadal to make a comeback and advance to the third round.
Karlovic, who recently broke the record for the all-time number of aces, showed his power, sending in 24 of them this match, which constantly troubled his opponent. But it was not enough at the end of the day, as the Spaniard maintained a clean slate, winning 5 of 5 against the 36-year old.
Nadal, who lost the recent Beijing Open final to Novak Djokovic, appeared only slightly uncomfortable but was handed a hard-fought game going into the business end of the tournament. The Spaniard will next face another big server, Milos Raonic, who battled past Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-7(3), 7-6(5) in two hours and 36 minutes.
In another encounter, 15th seed Feliciano Lopez defeated Dominic Thiem 6-7(4), 7-6(6), 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes. It was Lopez’s first victory over the 22-year-old Austrian, who had won their past three meetings.
Previously in the tournament, 2nd seed Roger Federer crashed out of the open following an upset by unseeded Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain.