Rafael Nadal is one set from reaching his 11th Mutua Madrid Open semi-final after taking the first set from former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka 6-1 on Friday.
The second seed is pursuing his sixth title at this ATP Masters 1000 tournament, which would extend his record at the elite level to 34 trophies. The winner of this quarter-final will play reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Nadal needed just 26 minutes to win the opening set against the Swiss star, winning 69 per cent of his return points and breaking Wawrinka twice. The Spaniard did well to dominate baseline rallies and keep the 34-year-old from too often taking the first big swing in rallies.
Wawrinka entered the match having won all 30 of his service games this week, but he successfully held serve just once from three tries in the first set.
Did You Know?
Nadal defeated Wawrinka in the 2013 Madrid final, defeating the Swiss 6-2, 6-4. The Spaniard leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 17-3.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour http://bit.ly/2YmJJrE
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