Nadal Speeds Past Norrie Into Barcelona Semi-Finals

Top seed Rafael Nadal powered past fellow lefty Cameron Norrie in straight sets on Friday to return to the semi-finals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

Coming into his quarter-final clash, the 11-time champion had already lost two sets this week after being taken the distance against Ilya Ivashka and two-time Barcelona champion Kei Nishikori. It was cause for alarm for some Spanish tennis fans, as Nadal had not previously dropped more than one set en route to any of his record Barcelona titles, nine of which he claimed without losing a set. 

But Nadal made sure to not concede another, coming out swinging against Norrie and dictating with his forehand to record a 6-1, 6-4 victory on Pista Rafa Nadal.

“I played well at the beginning, especially in the first set. I think I did a lot of things well. Then I stopped myself a little bit. That's something that cannot happen, especially tomorrow [in the semi-finals],” Nadal said in an on-court interview.

“I need to hold the level of intensity from the first set [when] I was able to change direction with my forehand and have most of the points under control. Then the situation was a little bit different, so that's why I suffered later.”

Into his 13th semi-final in Barcelona, Nadal will next face sixth-seeded Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta, who lifted the trophy in Marbella earlier in the month. Carreno Busta survived a tight battle against Buenos Aires champion Diego Schwartzman, winning 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and 35 minutes.

"Tomorrow I have [the] toughest match on this surface that you can play," said Carreno Busta, who trails Nadal 0-7 in their ATP Head2Head. "I'll just try to enjoy the moment."

The top seed looked to be at his fearsome best from the start against Norrie, breaking to take a 3-1 lead and reeling off the last five games in a row to take the opening set. The No.58-ranked Brit was hanging with Nadal in the early exchanges, but the gulf between them widened as the 11-time champion found his footing.

Nadal’s forehand was firing during the one-hour and 35-minute battle, keeping the Norrie serve under pressure throughout. The Spaniard converted half of the eight break points he created, and took a 2-1 lead in the second set. Things got a bit complicated as a late effort from Norrie saw the Brit break back to level the score at 4-4, but Nadal slammed the door on any hope for a comeback with an emphatic break straight back to love.

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After clinching the match point, the 11-time champion wasted no time and quickly booked a practice court to continue working in Barcelona.

“I just want to hit some balls, to let the arms [loosen up] and just hit for 10 or 15 minutes,” he explained.

With the victory, Nadal improved to 2-0 in his ATP Head2Head against Norrie, making it 18 consecutive victories over left-handed players since 2017 in Montreal (l. Shapovalov). Nadal’s overall record against fellow lefties now sits at 108-15.