Share

Rafa continues clay dominance

Barcelona - Rafael Nadal opened his bid for a sixth Barcelona Open title with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 win over Daniel Gimeno-Traver on Wednesday.

The top-ranked Nadal hammered his fellow Spaniard with hard groundstrokes, cruising to victory after breaking Gimeno-Traver's first two service games.

Nadal, who sat out last year's event after winning five straight titles from 2005 to 2009, will face Santiago Giraldo of Colombia in the third round of the outdoor clay court event.

Earlier, fourth-seeded David Ferrer made quick work of Carlos Berlocq to win 6-2, 6-2, and will meet Victor Hanescu, after the Romanian player beat South Africa's 14th-seeded Kevin Anderson 6-4, 6-4.

Two-time finalist Ferrer saved two break points to hold his serve in the third game, while Berlocq struggled with his serve throughout the first set, committing four double faults.

In the second set, Ferrer also saved the only two break points he faced while breaking twice for an easy win on the outdoor clay court.

The 2001 champion Juan Carlos Ferrero downed lucky loser Mischa Zverev, who took the place of the injured Andy Murray, 6-4, 7-5.

The former World No. 1 hit three aces in his second match since returning to the court after undergoing wrist and knee surgery in October.

"I was a little worse physically due to being tired from yesterday, but I held up well and came out with the win," said Ferrero, who will play Simone Vagnozzi in the next round after the Italian bounced the 16th-seeded Juan Monaco 6-3, 6-2.

Also on Tuesday, Japan's Kei Nishikori downed lucky loser Rui Machado of Portugal 6-1, 6-4.

Results from the Barcelona Open at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona (seedings in parentheses):

Singles

Second Round

Kei Nishikori, Japan, def. Rui Machado, Portugal, 6-1, 6-4.

Juan Carlos Ferrero, Spain, def. Mischa Zverev, Germany, 6-4, 7-5.

Santiago Giraldo, Colombia, def. Albert Ramos, Spain, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Simone Vagnozzi, Italy, def. Juan Monaco (16), Argentina, 6-3, 6-2.

David Ferrer (4), Spain, def. Carlos Berlocq, Argentina, 6-2, 6-2.

Albert Montanes (11), Spain, def. Benoit Paire, France, 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-4.

Victor Hanescu, Romania, def. Kevin Anderson (14), South Africa, 6-4, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal (1), Spain, def. Daniel Gimeno-Traver, Spain, 6-1, 6-1.

Richard Gasquet (9), France, def. Blaz Kavcic, Slovenia, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

Feliciano Lopez, Spain, def. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez (12), Spain, 6-7 (2), 6-3, 6-4.

Jurgen Melzer, (6), Austria, def. Marcel Granollers, Spain, 6-1, 6-3.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1472 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2251 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE