• Argentina Open

Nadal showing return to form in Argentina

ESPN staff
February 26, 2015
Rafael Nadal was happy with his performance in Argentina © Getty Images
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Top-seed Rafael Nadal beat local qualifier Facundo Arguello 6-4 6-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Argentina Open.

Nadal has yet to reach a final in three tournaments this season and was beaten in the semi-finals last week in Rio de Janeiro, ending his 52-match unbeaten run on clay.

He has had illness and injury problems the past few seasons and this year he says he's fit but not yet match conditioned.

"What happened is that in the first set, he played well, he played confidently, and I did not play very well," Nadal told the ATP official website. "I was a little nervous about the match because of the match that I lost last week in Rio.

"As the match went on, I started to feel a little bit better. Winning the first set was vital, and from then, everything got better ... I did things well in the second set."

In other key matches, third-seed Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay advanced with a 7-6(4) 6-1 win against Guido Andreozzi of Argentina, but No.5 Leonardo Mayer was ousted by fellow Argentine Juan Monaco 6-4 6-4.

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