RAFAEL ‘RAFA’ NADAL WINS AGAIN IN BARCELONA TENNIS AND SETS UP A QUARTERFINAL SHOWDOWN AGAINST THE FABULOUS FOGNINI BY RICKY DIMON FOR 10SBALLS

Written by: Staff on 21st April 2016

Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Conde de Godo Trophy

RAFAEL 'RAFA' NADAL WINS AGAIN IN BARCELONA TENNIS AND SETS UP A QUARTERFINAL SHOWDOWN AGAINST THE FABULOUS FOGNINI BY RICKY DIMON FOR 10SBALLS

epa05268951 Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal serves to countryman Marcel Granollers during their Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Conde de Godo Trophy second round match in Barcelona, northeastern Spain, 20 April 2016. The tournament runs in Barcelona from 18 until 24 April 2016. EPA/TONI ALBIR |

Rafael Nadal advanced to the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell by rolling over fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-2 on Thursday afternoon. Nadal struck three aces without double-faulting, served at 71 percent, and finished the job in just one hour and seven minutes.

The top seed got broken once in the opening set, but he lost a mere three service points in the entirety of the second.

“I started off very well, and it felt really good,” Nadal commented. “I had a great forehand today and the conditions were much better than yesterday.”

Nadal world No. 5 now played four sets this week without surrendering more than three games, having previously cruised past countryman Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-2 during second-round action. Fresh off a ninth title in Monte-Carlo, Nadal is now three victories away from accomplishing the same feat in Barcelona.

Italian tennis player Fabio Fognini returns the ball to Russian Mikhail Youzny during their Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Conde de Godo Trophy second round match held in Barcelona, Spain, on 20 April 2016. EPA/ANDREU DALMAU

Up next for the 14-time Grand Slam champion is Fabio Fognini, who beat Viktor Troicki 6-3, 6-2. Nadal and Fognini will be facing each other for the 10th time in their careers on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 6-3 in favor of Nadal, who is 3-2 against the Italian on clay. Fognini, however, has won three of their last five meetings dating back to last February and he got the best of Nadal 6-4, 7-6(6) in the third round of this Barcelona event in 2015.

Fognini also earned an opening bye as the 12th seed and he followed that up with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory over Mikhail Youzhny. He is still a disappointing 5-5 for what has been an injury-plagued year and 3-5 in his last eight matches.

Another quarterfinal will pit Benoit Paire against Malek Jaziri. Paire’s season has been a roller-coaster. The world No. 22 opened with a semifinal performance in Chennai, went on a four-match losing streak soon thereafter, reached another semifinal in Marseille, and then lost five of his next six matches. Paire played well last week in Monte-Carlo to reach the third round, but he blew a set and double-break lead over Andy Murray before falling 2-6, 7-5, 7-5. Seeded sixth in Barcelona, Paire has recovered with straight-set defeats of Teymuraz Gabashvili and Pablo Cuevas.

Jaziri has benefited from playing in a section of the draw vacated by Richard Gasquet, who withdrew due to injury. The 76th-ranked Tunisian ousted Hyeon Chung, fought past lucky loser Renzo Olivo in three sets, and upset Alexander Zverev 7-6(5), 6-4 on Thursday. He is through to just his fifth career ATP quarterfinal and second at the 500-point level.