French Open 2020 champion, Rafael Nadal, made it 1,001 ATP Tour wins on Thursday after the world No 2 saw off Jordan Thompson to ease into the quarter-finals of the Rolex Paris Masters.
The victory came a day after becoming the fourth player in the Open Era to record 1,000 tour-level wins as he chases another final at the Bercy, which he had only reached once far back as in 2007.
The world No 2 kindled a spirited second set fightback by Jordan Thompson to claim a 6-1 7-6 (7-3) victory.
Nadal says: “Positive thing, I think I only faced one break-point with my serve during the whole match but it was a set point, and a tough one. So that’s a positive thing with my serve.
“I found a way. In the tie-break, I saved a couple of breakpoints. The second point of the tie-break had huge importance too.
“So, yeah, quarter-finals, that’s the most important thing for me. I’m happy.”
Nadal will next face fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta on Friday after the ninth seed defeated Slovak Norbert Gombos 7-5 6-2.
“It’s normal that in quarter-finals I face a very tough opponent like him,” says Nadal. “We are in a Masters 1000, the best players are here. So I can’t expect another thing, no?
“I need to be ready to play my best against an opponent that I know he’s playing well and with confidence. I hope to be ready to play my game because that’s what I’m gonna need.
“I think I am not doing a lot of things bad. I just didn’t play indoors for a year almost and is part of the process of course. I need to keep going. I think these kinds of matches help. Yesterday’s match, today’s, tomorrow another opportunity,” he adds.
Now O like Busta and I like Nadal. I’m conflicted about their upcoming match 🙁