Rafael Nadal pounds into third round of Barcelona Open with hard-fought win
Saturday 28 April 2018 11:55, UK
Rafael Nadal remains on course for an 11th Barcelona Open title after overcoming Roberto Carballes Baena 6-4 6-4 to book his place in the third round.
Nadal, who has only ever lost three times in Barcelona, has now won 38 consecutive sets on clay and once he'd warmed to his task here, he proved too strong for his impressive Spanish compatriot.
It wasn't all plain sailing. The world No 1 - who will retain that status ahead of Roger Federer so long as he wins this week - was broken in his first service game as Carballes Baena refused to be overawed by his opponent.
But the 25-year-old could not consolidate on that aggressive start as Nadal hit back with his own break, although at deuce in the fourth game, Carballes Baena had another chance to put the pressure on, but he could only push a forehand long before chopping a drop shot into the net.
And Nadal had his break a game later, with a slam-dunk smash then sealing a 5-3 lead and although Carballes Baena continued to battle gamely, Nadal took the opening set in just over an hour.
Another break followed in the opening game of the second set, but any thoughts of Nadal racing through for a quick finish were put to bed as Carballes Baena continued to keep him honest, breaking back in game six for 3-3 as Nadal drilled a forehand long.
Parity did not last long, however, with a relentless Nadal happy to slug it out and finally claim game seven - and the decisive break - with a punishing forehand that clipped the line and had Carballes Baena swishing at dust.
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And that proved to be enough for Nadal, as although Carbelles Baena saved one match point on his own serve with a brave forehand volley, Nadal made no mistake on his own to set up a clash with Guillermo Garcia-Lopez.
Earlier, second seed Grigor Dimitrov cantered past Gilles Simon 6-2 6-1 to move into round three.
The scoreline was little flattering to the Bulgarian, who took some time to settle on the new court, but two breaks of serve in each set up a clash with Malek Jaziri.
Japan's Kei Nishikori was forced to retire after losing the first set to Garcia-Lopez. Nishikori had an issue with his right wrist and could not continue, allowing the Spaniard to look forward to his clash with Nadal.
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