In his sixth game of a season unlike any other, after the unconvincing performances against

Illya Ivaska

and

Kei Nishikori

, already entering the instances where he begins to sniff out the booty,

Rafael Nadal

met

Cameron Norrie

, an unsuspected rival at this point of the competition and on a surface that is not yours. The Briton, semifinalist in Delray Beach, slipped into the round of 16 after beating

Karen Khachanov

, twelfth seed, and continued to open his side of the table with the victory against

David Goffin

, who could not finish his match due to injury.

Norrie, 58th, has made his way onto the circuit after training in the college leagues in the United States based on the work that allows him to exploit his discreet tennis qualities.

Without needing to make a great qualitative leap in his performance, Nadal had the most placid afternoon of the week and won 6-1, 6-4, in one hour and 33 minutes.

If in his only previous meeting, the Spaniard won in three sets in the third round of the last Australian Open, Norrie's options were even smaller on clay.

Also left-handed, the British could not find a way to bother him.

The dedication that characterizes him did not prevent him from leaving with a 6-1 of the first set, in a nondescript match, without too much hook for the spectator.

Short-lived reaction

Despite improving with service, Nadal gave it up again in the eighth game of the second quarter, to see four equal after having had the option to reach 5-2 and serve. But he was clear about his desire not to stay too long on the track and immediately broke blank. Norrie's reaction was short-lived - Nadal had also snapped early in the second set and was ruling it sharply down to the smallest mishap. At a fixed gear, with no tactical alternatives, Norrie was wasting away toward an irremediable fate. The 11-time tournament champion left some house-brand hits, better as the dispute progressed.

He will need to continue growing against

Carreño

or

Schwartzman

, from whose match his opponent will come out in the semifinals.

On the other side will be measured

Stefanos Tsitsipas

, who has not given up a single set since he began the dirt tour with the title in Monte Carlo, and

Jannik Sinner

, recent finalist in Miami and one of the young people who push with greater determination, executioner of

Andrey Rublev

, Nadal's scourge in the Principality.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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