Rafael Nadal, who aims to lift his record ninth title in Barcelona, defeated Fabio Fognini in straight sets 6-2 7-6 to advance to the semifinal. With a win in the final on Sunday, he would equalize Guillermo Vilas record of 49 clay-court titles.
Photo credit: Banco Sadabell
Former World No. 1s Bob and Mike Bryan received the “Player 10” award by Segura Viudas from Manel Serras, President of the APT (Association of Tennis Journalists in Spain) on Thursday. The award is given during the Barcelona Open each year to the player that demonstrates both strong tennis skills and good human qualities.
The Bryans, winners of 110 doubles titles, aim to clinch their third Barcelona Open title.
Source: Barcelona Open, photo credit: Banco Sabadell
Alexander Zverev celebrated his 19th birthday with a hard-fought win over 15th Thomaz Bellucci 6-3 6-7 7-5. He’ll face Malek Jaziri in the third round.
2-time defending champion Kei Nishikori started his 2016 clay court campaign with a 6-4 6-2 victory over Thiemo de Bakker. His next opponent is Jérémy Chardy.
Almost 5,000 tennis fans got together at the Center Court of the Real Club Tenis Barcelona for the Peugeot Tennis Clinic on Sunday. During one hour, Nicolas Almagro, Pablo Carreno Busta and Paula Badosa hit balls with 40 kids from different clubs all over Catalonia, as well as 12 players from the Spanish Special Olympics delegation.
That’s for sure the kind of event we’d like to see more often. A few pictures from the clinic:
Rafael Nadal is already back at practice after his Monte Carlo victory yesterday. This week he’s playing the Barcelona Open, a tournament he has won 8 times.
