Rafael Nadal was pushed to three sets for the second time in two matches at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, but an improved performance saw him through to the quarterfinals. Nadal raised his level from a second-round win over Ilya Ivashka to hold off Kei Nishikori 6-0, 2-6, 6-2 on Thursday afternoon. The 11-time champion advanced after two hours and 19 minutes.
“Kei is an amazing player, so it is an important victory for me,” Nadal assessed. “He played great after that first set, but I found a way to get through. I played much better than yesterday, so (I’m) very satisfied.”
The Spaniard is obviously a massive favorite over Cameron Norrie on Friday, but the rest of the quarterfinal lineup is shaping up to be wildly intriguing. On the bottom half of the draw, Stefanos Tsitsipas is going up against Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andrey Rublev is facing Jannik Sinner.
Tsitsipas, the Monte-Carlo champion, extended his winning streak to seven matches with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Alex de Minaur. The fifth-ranked Greek battled back from a break down in the second set to prevail in one hour and 24 minutes.
Rublev, who lost to Tsitsipas last weekend in Monte-Carlo, has been unable to find his normally dominant game this week. The seventh-ranked Russian struggled against Federico Gaio in his Barcelona opener and did the same against Albert Ramos-Vinolas on Thursday. A frustrated Rublev still got the job done 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 after two hours and 28 minutes.
“Nothing has changed; I didn’t learn my lessons,” the 23-year-old admitted. “The most important thing is that I managed to win today. When you’re not doing something correctly but you’re still winning matches, it gives you confidence. Albert was playing much better than me early in the third set, but you never know which way it will go.”
Sinner booked his spot in the last eight by beating Roberto Bautista Agut for the third time this season, while Auger-Aliassime dismissed fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-3.
Norrie got a second-set retirement from David Goffin and will run into Nadal for the second time this year. The Brit went down 7-5, 6-2, 7-5 in round three of the Australian Open.
decent by Nadal, at least. Better than yesterday.
Whatever happens , you can be sure Rafa will be back to his best for RG
Glad I didn’t miss that Nadal v Nishikori encounter. It was one for the ages.
Define ages
Really? Two anons talking to each other? hahaha
Oh RC,
You are so naive. Anons talk to each other? IT happens all the time.
I’m a bit nervous about Rafa….and Tpas and Rublev might beat him on clay.
Rublev is still down about the Monte Carlo final. It feels to me like Tsitsipas broke his spirit and killed his joy. He is not the Rublev that beat Rafa in Monte Carlo.
Tsitsipas is the one carrying the most confidence right now. I’d really hope Rafa could give the Greek a good beatdown in the final!
Apologies to Tsitsipas fans. He is strutting his stuff as he should be. I will get over my budding grudge and fear of him.
You apologised about Rublev as well, must be something about men with retro hairstyles 😉
😊 I refuse to admit it. There is encouraging grandmotherly advice I would chat up to Ruby.
Now that he beat RBA, I fancy Sinner to beat Rublev and even further.He hits the ball even harder than Rublev, though he stands further back.
Yep, Sinner beating Rublev could be the ultimate disgrace for the Russian. I feel the pain as we speak of it. Maybe the last nail in the coffin for 2021.
Poor Rublev.
Rublev was crushed in that MC final. He is aware he needs to improve. But that transition game takes time (if ever). There is no getting to the top of the ATP without it.