Barcelona (AFP)
Spain's Rafael Nadal, world No.3 and seeded No.1 in the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona, had to fight again to secure his qualification in the quarter-finals, dropping a set against Kei Nishikori before winning on Thursday , 6-0, 2-6, 6-2.
The Mallorcan, in search of a 12th title on the ground of Barcelona, needed 2h20 to get rid of the Japanese, former world No. 4 who has now fallen back to 39th place in the world.
On Wednesday, the Spaniard, eliminated in the quarter-finals in Monte-Carlo last week, had already spent more than 2 hours on the court to overcome the modest Belarusian Ilya Ivashka, 111th player in the world, resulting from the qualifications.
Former winner in Barcelona in 2014 and 2015, Nishikori can harbor some regrets: he only managed to convert two of his 13 break points against Nadal, who was able to remain present in the important moments.
"I think I played a lot better than yesterday; that's something that was important to me. My level of positive energy was better, I'm very satisfied," commented the world No.3 at the outcome of the match.
In the next round, he will face the Briton Cameron Norrie, who benefited from the abandonment of the Belgian David Goffin, to try to secure a place in the last four.
Two other favorites, Stefanos Tsitsipas, recent winner in Monte-Carlo, and Andrey Rublev (7th), also won their ticket for the quarterfinals.
The Greek will face the young Canadian, Felix Auger-Aliassime, who recently enlisted the services of Toni Nadal, while the Russian will face the Italian nugget, Jannik Sinner.
© 2021 AFP