Rafael Nadal after opening weaknesses in the round of 16 in Barcelona
Despite weaknesses in the first set, Rafael Nadal has reached the round of 16 of the ATP tournament in Barcelona and is heading for his twelfth title in the Catalan metropolis.
by SID / tennisnet
last edit: Apr 25, 2019, 02:37 pm
The top seed Mallorcan, who had lost the semi-final of Monte Carlo against the Italian Fabio Fognini last Saturday, prevailed against the Argentinian Leonardo Mayer with 6: 7 (7: 9), 6: 4 and 6: 2.
Nadal's opponent in the round of eight is his compatriot David Ferrer, who eliminated Hamburg's Mischa Zverev in the first round. Clay court king Nadal celebrated his first tournament victory in Barcelona in 2005, most recently he was successful three times in a row. Against Mayer, he converted his second match point after 2:25 hours.
Before Nadal, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Daniil Medvedev and Ferrer had already made it to the round of 16. Ferrer is on a farewell tour, but won convincingly 6: 3, 6: 1 against Lucas Pouille. The Frenchman continues his strange year 2019: he reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, but always lost at the start of all other tournament starts.
The German-Spanish Nicola Kuhn was eliminated after a 7: 6 (4), 4: 6, 2: 6 against Lucky Loser Roberto Carballes Baena. Kuhn had won against Federico Delbonis in round one.
Thiem out in doubles
Dominic Thiem was eliminated in doubles: The Lichtenwörther lost alongside Joao Sousa 7: 6 (8), 6: 7 (5), [7:10] against the top seeded duo Lukasz Kubot / Marcelo Melo.
In the individual Thiem meets the Spaniard Jaume Munar on Thursday. The game is scheduled as a second match, but will not start before 12.30pm.