Nadal reigns on own court in Barcelona
BARCELONA: Defending champion Rafael Nadal cruised past Rogerio Dutra Silva of Brazil 6-1, 6-2 to reach the third round of the Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
Top seed Andy Murray also advanced, but without having to play as Bernard Tomic withdrew before their second-round match because of a lower back injury.
Third seed Nadal, making his debut at the newly named “Rafa Nadal” centre court in Barcelona, had a slow start to the second set against the 69th-ranked Brazilian, but recovered by winning the final six games to secure the victory.
“I think I played a solid match. I think it was a comfortable win,” Nadal said. “I played well, with the right intensity against a player that came in with a lot of victories on clay this year.”
The fifth-ranked Nadal is a nine-time champion at the claycourt tournament. He is coming off his 10th title at the Monte Carlo Masters.
Nadal will next play Kevin Anderson of South Africa.
The top-ranked Murray was originally going to skip the Barcelona Open but decided to play after being eliminated in the third round at the Monte Carlo Masters, when he blew a 4-0 lead in the deciding set to Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
He will play 40th-ranked Feliciano Lopez of Spain, who defeated Albert Montanes 6-2, 6-2.
It was the final career match for Montanes, who had announced last week that the Barcelona Open would be his last tournament after nearly 20 years on tour.