By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, April 20, 2016
Rafael Nadal won 12 of the last 16 games sweeping Marcel Granollers, 6-3, 6-2, in his Barcelona opener.
Photo credit: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters/Getty
Barcelona has always held a special place in Rafael Nadal's heart.
His uncle, Miguel Angel Nadal, played for FC Barcelona, the King of Clay amassed a 41-match winning streak at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona and the left-hander calls the club' center court one his favorite courts in the world.
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Enduring a bumpy Barcelona reunion in the early stages today—he dropped serve in the opening game and stumbled on a soft spot crashing to the court in the fourth game—Nadal was wearing patches of the Barcelona clay on his back midway through the second set.
After those early transitional challenges, Nadal found his footing and ran Marcel Granollers right out of the tournament.
Fresh off his run to his record-extending ninth Monte Carlo championship, Nadal launched his quest for his ninth Barcelona crown crushing compatriot Granollers, 6-3, 6-2, in 91 minutes.
The top seed raised his Barcelona record to 44-3 setting up a second-round meeting with fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes, who toppled 14th-seeded Joao Sousa, 6-1, 6-3.
Two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori looked sharp in his 2016 clay-court debut. The second-seeded Nishikori dusted 2010 semifinalist Thiemo de Bakker, 6-4, 6-2, raising his Barcelona record to 16-3.
Nishikori will face Jeremy Chardy for a place in the last eight. The 13th-seeded Frenchman stopped Victor Estrella Burgos in straight sets yesterday.
Nadal had won all three prior encounters with Granollers, sweeping all six sets they'd played.
The transition from Monte Carlo's slower clay to the slightly faster and livelier Barcelona bounced was evident at the start.
Granollers gained four break points in the opening game, flicking an exceptional backhand drop shot to break.
Nadal answered by converting his fifth break point in sensational style. Correctly anticipating a Granollers smash, Nadal was already dashing to his left before the ball landed, snapping a forehand pass down the line to steal the break back.
The edge of his right foot stuck in a soft spot of the clay while he was hitting a return causing Nadal to roll his ankle and tumble to the court in the fourth game. That crash onto the clay left a swath of salmon-colored dirt that looked like a tire track across his back.
Rising from the dirt, Nadal broke on a Granollers double fault for 3-1 then summoned chair umpire Carlos Bernardes who called on the grounds crew to fill in a crevice on the clay.
Regaining his balance, Nadal put his foot down.
Sliding his serve out wide to open the court with his forehand, the top seed dictated baseline rallies in his service games. Nadal snapped off a slider serve wide on the deuce court, closing the opening set in 55 minutes on the strength of 13 winners compared to seven for his opponent.
Breaking down Granollers' forehand, Nadal drew a flying forehand error to break in the first game of the second set.
Granollers showed his grit fighting out of a triple-break point corner for a hard-earned hold for 1-2.
Working over the corners and whipping his inside-out forehand to Granollers' forehand wing, Nadal elicited a wayward forehand, scoring his fourth break for a 5-2 lead. The Monte Carlo champion converted four of 16 break points today.
Following a forehand down the line forward, Nadal nudged an angled forehand drop volley for double match point. When a Granollers drop shot missed the mark, Nadal collected his sixth straight victory.
Fabio Fognini stormed back winning 12 of the last 13 games in a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 triumph over Mikhail Youzhny. Fognini, who lost just seven points on serve over the final two sets, will play Viktor Troicki next. The eighth-seeded Serbian stopped qualifier Marton Fucsovics, 6-4, 1-6, 6-0.
In their last clay-court clash, Fognini edged Troicki, 8-6, in the fifth set at the 2012 Roland Garros. Should Fognini and Nadal both advance to the quarterfinals they would meet in a rematch of the 2015 Barcelona round of 16 clash, which Fognini won 6-4, 7-6 (6).
Alexander Zverev celebrated his 19th birthday in style, denying 15th-seeded Thomaz Bellucci, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-5, in two hours, 27 minutes. Zverev will face Malek Jaziri for a quarterfinal spot.