Rafael Nadal slays Robert Farah in the third round – Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell 2012
Six-time former champion, Rafael Nadal of Spain, cruised to the last eight after beating Colombian, Robert Farah, in straight sets 6-2, 6-3 in the round of 16 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in Spain on Thursday.
The top seed completed the victory over Farah after playing for one hour and 26 minutes.
Nadal made a solid start, as he hit a blow to the Colombian in the opening game of the match and held his next serve to attain a 2-0 lead. The Spaniard broke Farah again in the eighth game and served it out at 5-2.
The left-hander banged in a couple of aces and did not commit any double fault, putting in 67 percent of the first serves. Ranked number two in the world, Nadal had a decent conversion rate, as he won 11 of the 14 first and five
of the seven second delivery points. Nadal did not give even a single break opportunity to the Colombian and utilised two of the six of his own in the opener.
The Spaniard struck in the first game of the second set but Farah did not take much time to hit back, evening out the score at 1-1. Nadal and the Colombian went neck to neck till 3-3 but then the King of Clay grabbed three straight
games to close it 6-3.
The 25-year-old neither hit an ace nor committed any double fault in the second set. He attacked on Farah’s weak second serves, claiming 10 of the 15 points on them.
Talking to the reporters after the match, the Spaniard said, "I had a good start, but the second set was a lot more difficult. There are no easy matches out there. It was tough but I'm into the quarters and feeling positive. Tomorrow
will be even more difficult for sure."
Nadal is drawn to play fifth seed, Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, in the quarter-final. The Serbian thrashed Colombian, Frederico Gil, in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 in the round of 16.
Tipsarevic said, talking about his next match, "Nadal is absolutely the worst opponent anyone can have on clay. He's hardly lost a match here. But you have to go for the victory, aiming to just win a few games or a set is not enough.
I'm playing well, I'm not too tired. I have fuel left in my tank for this match."
Nadal has won both of the two previous meetings between him and Tipsarevic.
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