Rafa rolls on at China Open

Second seed Rafael Nadal survived a late fightback from Adrian Mannarino to beat the French qualifier 6-1 7-6(6) and reach the quarterfinals of the China Open.

On a rain-hit day in Beijing, the 30-year-old got off to a quick start, winning nine of the first 11 games.

However, Mannarino rallied back to force the second set into a tiebreak before Nadal ended the contest on his second match point.

“I think I played a fantastic first set. Great level of tennis, serving very good, hitting so good. During the second set, I slowed the rhythm a little bit and he played very well,” Nadal said.

“I think I played with the right amount of determination in the tiebreak. It’s very important for my confidence to pass through these tough moments.”

Nadal is currently No.8 in the race to qualify for the World Tour Finals in London, the season-ended championship open to the top eight-ranked players.

The Spaniard will take another step towards cementing his qualification when he faces Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in Friday’s quarterfinals.

Dimitrov, who is bidding to reach his third tournament final of the year, was two points away from defeat against sixth seed Lucas Pouille but fought back for a gruelling 6-7(3) 7-6(0) 6-4 victory in two hours, 26 minutes.

“Especially in the second set, when he was serving for the match. I felt I was playing good tennis,” the 25-year-old Dimitrov said..

“All I could do was stay composed, try to hit every ball that I could and use every opportunity. They came a bit late, but I’m pretty happy with it.”

All other matches were cancelled due to rain, including third seed Milos Raonic second round clash against Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri.