Ruthless Rafael Nadal ensured a costly week for Fabio Fognini took another turn for the worse by knocking him out of the Shanghai Masters.
Fognini was on Wednesday fined $96,000 and given a suspended Grand Slam ban for verbally abusing a female umpire at the US Open last month.
The Italian crashed out in Shanghai a day later, world No. 1 Nadal coasting to a 6-3, 6-1 victory in just an hour and two minutes with yet another domineering display.
Nadal won the China Open last week on his return to competitive action following his US Open triumph and will face Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals as he eyes a third consecutive title.
The top seed eased past Jared Donaldson in the second round and was a cut above the unseeded Fognini, who could not break the 16-time Grand Slam champion's serve and the favourite made just four unforced errors in an ominous performance.
Nadal wasted no time in applying the pressure on the Fognini serve, breaking for a 2-0 lead when the world No. 28 overcooked a backhand.
The Spaniard served out the set to love, losing just six points on serve in a commanding first-set performance, and a frustrated Fognini lost the first game of the second set on serve after creaming a backhand beyond the baseline
Fognini had his first two break points in the fourth game of the second set, but he gifted Nadal a hold when he raced in to blast a forehand wildly wide when the point was his for the taking.
Nadal sensed Fognini was on the ropes and took advantage, winning the next three games in a flash to go through at a canter.
Comments
SHARE