Rafael Nadal fought off a valiant Hyeon Chung to advance to the Barcelona Semifinals with a 7-6(1) 6-2 victory.
Despite Nadal’s clay court reputation, the South Korean qualifier was unfazed as he showed off his clay court skills to break the Rafa serve early for a 2-1 lead. That was followed by a fearless hold of serve, which included some stunning forehand shots to silence the Spanish crowd on Pista Rafa Nadal. However it wasn’t long before the nine time champion overcame his early unforced errors and find his range, as he broke to level the set at 3-3. Chung remained confident though as he created angles that even Nadal would be proud of, as he forced Rafa to his limits. As a result the first set went to a tiebreak.
As soon as it went to the tiebreak, the match was over. The Spaniard stepped up a gear as he took the first six points on the breaker to break Chung’s spirit. Nadal eventually took the tiebreak 7-1 in just over the hour mark. From that moment on he served and returned with aggression, using his ridiculous topspin to his advantage. He broke for a 2-0 lead early on and looked to finish this match as quickly as possible. He then broke again to seal a double break for a 4-1 lead. Nadal finiahed with an ace to seal a dominant display in 1 hour and 45 minutes. It was a very good match from Nadal, who faced a stern test and these victories can only build up his confidence.
Here are some of Nadal’s best shots from the match:
Rafael Nadal will play Horacio Zeballos in the semifinals, who dispatched Karen Khachanov 6-4 6-1 on Friday evening. The match will be at 16:00 local time.
