Sport

Rafael Nadal extends winning streak to 14 matches

The 31-year-old dispatches Fabio Fognini to reach quarter-finals at Shanghai Masters

Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning his match against Fabio Fognini at the Shanghai Masters, in Shanghai, China. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP
Rafael Nadal celebrates after winning his match against Fabio Fognini at the Shanghai Masters, in Shanghai, China. Photograph: Andy Wong/AP
Thu Oct 12 2017 - 22:30

Rafael Nadal continued to scythe his way through the Shanghai Masters on Thursday, reaching the quarter-finals with a 6-3 6-1 thrashing of temperamental Italian Fabio Fognini.

The Spaniard needed two minutes over the hour to dispatch Fognini, taking his winning streak to 14 matches since the start of the US Open, where he claimed a 16th Grand Slam title.

The 31-year-old is closing in on finishing the year as world number one for the first time since 2013, but Roger Federer, the only man who can stop him, is looking equally impressive. Federer delighted his small army of Chinese fans inside the Qi Zhong Centre with an emphatic 6-4 6-2 defeat of tricky Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Fognini was playing the day after being handed a suspended ban from two Grand Slams and a $96,000 (about €81,000) fine for verbally abusing a female umpire at the US Open.