By Chris Oddo | Thursday, April 17, 2014

 

Rafael Nadal cruised to his 300th career clay-court victory, 6-1, 6-3, over Andreas Seppi at the Monte-Carlo Masters on Thursday.

Photo Source: Julian Finney/ Getty

Rafael Nadal was invincible early and more than good enough late to tackle Italian Andreas Seppi and notch his 300th career clay-court victory on Thursday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

Statisfaction: Nadal's Clay-Court Domination

The Spaniard will continue his bid for a record ninth Monte-Carlo title on Friday against fellow Spaniard David Ferrer, who defeated Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 6-2.

Nadal was in fine form from the onset of his 6-1, 6-3 victory, using his forehand to create wicked angles in the first game, then delivering a delicate drop shot to earn his first break point just four points into the match.

Seppi would net a forehand a few moments later and Nadal would race to a 4-0 lead soon thereafter.

After a Seppi hold, Nadal would find himself in trouble while serving at 4-1. He rallied from triple break point down, thanks to some loose play from the Italian, but he would have to face another two break points before escaping the game.

The second set looked to be headed in the same direction as the first, as Nadal raced out to a 3-0 lead, but Seppi gathered himself to avoid the double-break disadvantage with a key hold. The Italian then quickly struck with a break to love to bring the set back on serve, only to have a determined Nadal snatch the break back in the next game.

In the end it was apparent that there was very little that Seppi could do to hurt Nadal in this affair. The onus was on the Spaniard to make or to miss his opportunities, and he made most of them, converting on all five break points he saw, and thumping 20 winners against only 16 unforced errors.

Nadal’s victory places him within two victories of his next major milestone in Monte-Carlo. If he reaches the final he'll move into tenth on the all-time clay-court win list, passing Jose-Luis Clerc (301).

Nadal is bidding to reclaim the Monte-Carlo crown that he lost in 2013 to Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard won eight consecutive titles in the principality, from 2005 to 2012, and owns a career record of 50-2.