Rafael Nadal began his bid for a fifth straight title at the Barcelona Open by beating Frederico Gil of Portugal 6-2, 6-2 in the second round on Wednesday.
Following a first-round bye, top-ranked Nadal broke Gil twice in each set but the qualifier made him work hard.
“I have to play better than I did today,” Nadal said. “I have to play well. Otherwise, it is going to be complicated.”
Nadal has lost only one of his 23 matches at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. He’s also on a 22-match winning streak on clay.
Trying to become the first player to win the Barcelona Open five straight times, Nadal will next play Christophe Rochus of Belgium, who defeated Richard Gasquet of France 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-3.
Nadal beat Rochus at this year’s Australian Open.
Four other Spaniards reached the third round.
No. 2-seeded Fernando Verdasco beat qualifier Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 7-5, 6-3, No. 6 Tommy Robredo downed Gaston Gaudio of Argentina 7-6 (6), 6-1, No. 10 Nicolas Almagro took more than two hours to overcome Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3, and No. 16 Feliciano Lopez also rallied past countryman Santiago Ventura 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Gaudio, a former Barcelona champion entered with a wild card, fought back from two breaks and 5-2 down to force a tiebreaker but he eventually faded against Robredo.
Robredo was the last player to win Barcelona before Nadal. He will next face Igor Andreev of Russia.
Also, third-seeded Nikolay Davydenko beat Arnaud Clement of France 7-6 (2), 6-2, seventh-seeded David Nalbandian topped Igor Kunitsyn of Russia 7-5, 6-4, and eighth-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka dispatched Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, 7-5, 6-1.
Other winners included Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic, Fernando Gonzalez of Chile, Potito Starace of Italy and Juan Monaco of Argentina.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS