Rafael Nadal was close to his clay-court best in beating Gael Monfils 6-1, 6-3 on Friday for a place in the Madrid Masters semifinals. The 23-year-old Monfils was playing his first clay tournament of the season and was outclassed by a dominant Nadal, who has not lost a service game in his three matches in Madrid.
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The second-seeded Spaniard pressured Monfils’ serve from the start, and broke to go up 3-1 in the first set after the 12-seeded Frenchman double-faulted. Another unforced error by Monfils gave Nadal a second break, before he comfortably served out the set.
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