Rafael Nadal served notice to the tennis world that it will take a monumental effort to beat him on the red clay courts of Europe this spring.
Nadal saved his best tennis of the week for #7 seed Gael Monfils, dismantling the Frenchman in straight sets, 6-2 6-2 at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The world’s #1 ranked player never faced a break point, dominating the middle portion of each set. Monfils simply could not keep up with the blistering pace and spin of Nadal’s forehand, which seems to only be getting better as the clay court season goes on.
The two sets were mirror images of each other. Monfils opened the match with a service hold before losing five straight games. He held a 40-love lead at 1-1 when he netted a relatively easy forehand down the line. Nadal came all the way back to break, and raced to a 5-1 lead before Monfils could hold again to make the scoreboard look a little more respectable.
The second set unfolded in the same manner--the Frenchman opened by holding serve and then lost five consecutive games. He held one more time at 5-1 before Nadal served out the match on an overcast afternoon in Barcelona in just under an hour and a quarter. On the first point of the second set, Monfils went high to play a backhand smash and tumbles awkwardly to the court. He slightly favored his left ankle during the remainder of the match, but never called for the trainer.
Not only did Nadal beat Monfils for the 8th time in 9 matches, he caught a break fromMother nature and the schedule makers. A steady rain began to fall shortly after the match, delaying the three other quarterfinal matches. Nadal advances to the semifinals tomorrow where he will meet the winner of the quarterfinal match between Ivan Dodig and fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez. Nadal is chasing his 6th title in Barcelona, including five consecutive years from 2005-2009.
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