Nadal scores half-ton in Barcelona; Bops ousted

Barcelona, April 27

Third seed Rafael Nadal remains on course for a tenth Barcelona Open title, advancing to the quarterfinals with a routine 6-3, 6-4 victory over Kevin Anderson.

It was Nadal's 50th victory at the tournament he has won nine times and the Mallorcan never looked in danger against the world No. 66, forcing ten break points throughout the match.

Nadal, who was only able to take two of them against the big-serving South African, admitted that the rain throughout the morning in Catalonia meant the newly-renamed Rafa Nadal Court was moving slower than usual and will be hoping for better weather when he takes on either Alexander Zverev or Hyeon Chung in the last eight on Friday.

“They weren't the best conditions for me. I much prefer it when the ball is doing more,” Nadal said. “It wasn't easy. He's a really tall player who hits the ball well in comfortable positions. I tried to make him take the ball on the move in order to make him less comfy.” 

British No. 2 Dan Evans' campaign came to an end at the hands of Austria's Dominic Thiem 7-6, 6-2 who will face Yuichi Sugita in the quarters after the Japanese knocked out home favourite Pablo Carreno Busta.

Bopanna, Cuevas bite dust 

After the high of Monte Carlo Masters title triumph, India’s Rohan Bopanna and his partner Pablo Cuevas suffered a first round exit at the ATP Barcelona Open. 

The unseeded Indo-Uruguay pair lost 6-7 (3) 6-7 (2) to the top seeded combination of Henri Kontinen and John Peers. En route their title win in Monaco last week, Bopanna and Cuevas had defeated the world No. 1 and 2 players in doubles — Kontinen and Peers — in the quarterfinals. 

Bopanna is now ranked 18 in the world while Cuevas is ranked 24 in the doubles and 26 in the singles. — Agencies