April 24, 2009

Top seed and defending champion Rafa Nadal cruised past Christophe Rochus of Belgium in straight sets, 6-2 6-0 yesterday at the Barcelona Open third round, and remains on course for his fifth straight title.

The "King of Clay" extended his unrivalled supremacy on the surface of the Catalan capital after only 56 minutes of play and set up a quarterfinal meeting against David Nalbandian. However, shortly after his match, he discovered he had been given a walkover.

David Nalbandian pulled out of his quarterfinal match at the Barcelona Open due to a hip injury, the tournament doctor said on Thursday.

"I've never played Nalbandian on clay, this would have been a good challenge," said Rafa when he was told the news "It's a pity that this had to happen to him."

"I don't think it's an disadvantage for me not to play tomorrow. I will have train tomorrow a bit more intensively than usual and that's it. It's not nice to reach the semifinals like this, but I have to be positive. I'm in the semis of Barcelona and that's always a good thing," Rafa was quoted as saying by news agency Europa Press.

In the semis, Rafa will face the winner of the match between Russian Nikolay Davydenko and Check, Radek Stepanek.

MATCH AGAINST ROCHUS

The flamboyant left-hander broke in the third game with a cross-court forehand and he cruised through the second with some exquisitely precise strokes to win in under an hour.

Rafa's emphatic win was his 23rd in succession on clay and improved a phenomenal record on the surface since 2005 to 140 wins and just four defeats.

Vamos Rafa!