BARCELONA (AFP) – Rafael Nadal held off Jan-Lennard Struff, 7-5, 7-5, in the Barcelona Open quarterfinals on Friday to move closer to setting an ATP record as the first player to win the same event 12 times.
Nadal must first get through a Saturday semifinal against 2017 finalist Dominic Thiem, who crushed Argentine Guido Pella, 7-5, 6-2.
Nadal took an hour and three quarters to overcome Struff in their first meeting.
Nadal is regaining his swagger after losing last weekend in the Monte Carlo semis to Italy’s Fabio Fognini.
Nadal stands a perfect 11-0 in Barcelona semifinals.
Japan’s two-time champion Kei Nishikori won a slugfest with Roberto Carballes Baena, 6-4, 7-5, to move into a Barcelona semis for a fourth time.
Nishikori will take on Russian Daniil Medvedev on Saturday after the seventh seed stopped lucky loser Nicolas Jarry of Chile, 6-3, 6-4.
Nishikori, the winner in 2014 and 2015, served out for victory after his 104th-ranked opponent slipped in the penultimate game and appeared to strain a right thigh muscle.
Japanese Osaka hits back at critics
In Stuttgart, Germany, world No. 1 Naomi Osaka has hit back at her critics after fighting to a dramatic comeback win over Donna Vekic to reach her first career clay court semi-final in Stuttgart on Friday.
The 21-year-old Japanese battled back from 1-5 down in the final set to beat Vekic 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) but denied that she was struggling this year.
“I don’t know why people are saying I am having a bad season,’’ she said. “I won the Australian Open, right?”
Despite securing her second Grand Slam title in Melbourne, Osaka had not reached a semifinal since then before her thrilling fightback in Stuttgart, having suffered early exits in Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami.
She admitted that the defeats, and the pressure of being number one, had affected her.
“I would be lying if I said it didn’t bother me. You can tell because I get antsy on court, whereas before, if I made a mistake, I would just act on it.”
