Rafael Nadal’s unbeaten streak on clay has now reached 70 matches as he defeated Potito Starace of Italy in straight sets 6-2 7-5 to reach the semifinals of the Barcelona Open.

This victory means that Nadal now has a brilliant chance to become the second man after former great Mats Wilander, to win the Barcelona Open three years in a row.

Nadal committed lots of unforced errors against Potito in the second set but his serve, which has been the strongest point so far in the tournament did the trick for the Spaniard in crucial moments of the match. Nadal will now face compatriot David Ferrer in the semifinal, latter was just too good for David Nalbandian.

Interestingly, this is the first time in his career that Ferrer has reached the semifinals of Barcelona Open. Guillermo Canas has also reached the semifinal when Nikolay Davydenko pulled out with an injured right wrist. Canas will now face the challenge of compatriot Agustin Calleri after he defeated Oscar Hernandez 6-0 6-3.

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BBC