Nadal Plods Along

Rafael Nadal had a sluggish start in his Thursday evening match with German Philipp Kohlschreiber but was able to still able to get into a groove by the second set. The Spaniard jumped out to a two-set lead over the 26 year old.

It looked like another straight-set win for the returning champion until he lost his opening serve in the third set. Kohlschreiber somehow took control of the set causing Nadal to fall out of sorts. Errors uncharacteristically crept into the second-seeds game, and the German managed to keep his tournament hopes alive and win the third set.

They traded breaks in the fourth set but then Nadal stepped up his game in the last two games to win the fourth set and the match. It was not pretty, but he did manage to get pass Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2 2-6 7-5.

Nadal will play Croat Ivo Karlovic, who played at the same time and length in his third-round match with Ivan Ljubicic, in the round of 16. The Mallorcan leads their head-to-head 2-0. The two players have never met on a hardcourt surface before. Dr. Ivo and his giant serve spell trouble on Saturday.

Friday’s Results

Saturday’s Order of Play

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(Image: AFP/Getty Images/Torsten Blackwood)