Nadal, Murray advance at Barcelona Open

Defending champ Rafael Nadal defeated Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open while Andy Murray struggled to join him on Thursday. Murray had his hands full getting past Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4. Nadal converted a break point in each set to secure his seventh straight clay-court victory. Nadal, a nine-time champion in Barcelona, next faces qualifier Hyeon Chung of South Korea. The fifth-ranked Nadal is coming off his 10th title at the Monte Carlo Masters. The topranked Murray took nearly two hours to close out Lopez, ranked 40th.