Nadal Wins 35th Straight At Barcelona, Ferrer Crashes Out; Raonic v Gulbis Thursday
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It was a mixed day for Spaniards at their home Barcelona event. After suffering a loss in the Monte Carlo final Sunday, Rafael Nadal got his game back on track on Wednesday easily dispatching Carlos Berlocq 6-4, 6-2 in his opening match.
“The conditions today weren’t comfortable,” said Nadal. “There was a very changeable wind that made it difficult to play at a high level. The most important thing is to accept the situation and move forward.”
Nadal has now won 35 straight matches at the event and tomorrow meets Benoit Paire. And Rafa’s march to an 8th title got a little easier when top seed David Ferrer flamed out to qualifier and fellow 30+ Dmitry Tursunov 7-5, 3-6, 6-1.
Ferrer, who was playing his first match since the Miami loss to Andy Murray in the final, called it one of his worst losses.
“It was the worst match that I’ve played in the last couple of years,” said the top-seeded Ferrer. “I lost the third set too fast. He was better today and more aggressive in the third. I just did not feel good on the court today.”
A four-time runner-up, Ferrer was seeded No. 1 for the first time in his career at the tournament. Ferrer’s loss also brightens the hopes of the fifth-ranked Nadal moving into the Top 4 by the French Open.
Nicolas Almagro, Juan Monaco and Milos Raonic were also winners on the day. Tomorrow, Roanic faces Ernests Gulbis.
PISTA CENTRAL start 11:00
[10] J Chardy (FRA) vs [7] J Monaco (ARG)
Not Before 13:30
[4] N Almagro (ESP) vs [15] M Granollers (ESP)
[13] B Paire (FRA) vs [2] R Nadal (ESP)
T Robredo (ESP) vs [3] T Berdych (CZE)
D Marrero (ESP) / F Verdasco (ESP) vs M Fyrstenberg (POL) / M Matkowski (POL)
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