Nadal Reaches Rome QF's

World No. 3 Rafael Nadal stayed on course for a fifth title at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia as he defeated Romanian Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Rome.

Nadal capitalised on his fifth break point to go up 3-1 in the opening set, and cushioned his lead as he went two for two on his opportunities in the second set. Though Hanescu put pressure on Nadal’s serve towards the end of the match, the Spaniard fought off five break point chances before serving out the victory in one hour and 22 minutes.


"I played with less intensity after the 4-1," Nadal said. "It's impossible to play with less intensity at this level and if you stop your intensity a little bit, the other player can get you in big trouble. Yes, I was lucky. I saved a few shots with a good serve and a good forehand so the important thing is that I won 6-2, and I had some problems with myself in the last two games but I saved them."