Barcelona Open: Rafael Nadal Reaches Semi Finals

Barcelona: Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal has defeated Slovakia's Martin Klizan 6-0, 7-5 here to advance to the semifinals of the Barcelona Open, an ATP World Tour 500-level clay-court tournament. After breezing through the first set during the match on Friday, Nadal stumbled in the second, Efe news reported.

Klizan, who upset former world number 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round, seemed to be on his way to ending Nadal's Open Era record of consecutive sets won on clay at 41, breaking the Spaniard's serve in the first game of the second set and building up a 5-3 lead. The 10-time Barcelona Open champion, however, rallied to win four games in a row and his clay-court streak to 42 sets.

Nadal got revenge for his defeat to Klizan at the 2014 Beijing Open quarterfinals, earning his third career win over the Slovak in their fourth encounter. The Spaniard will square off against either countryman Roberto Bautista or Belgium's David Goffin for a place in the final.

IANS