By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, April 22, 2016
Battling back from a break down in the second set, Rafael Nadal swept Fabio Fognini, 6-2, 7-6 (1), scoring his eighth straight win to reach the Barcelona semifinals.
Photo credit: Barcelona Open BancSabadell
A rivalry crackling with bold strikes and intense conflict in the past was pulsating with tie break pressure when Rafael Nadal and Fabio Fognini came face to face near net.
Soaring high for a topspin lob, Nadal snapped off a high backhand volley that Fognini could not control leaving the demonstrative Italian shaking his hands and shouting in frustration.
That sequence summed up an entertaining Barcelona quarterfinal.
Fognini wielded his all-court creativity to test the top seed, Nadal delivered dynamic answers when he needed them most.
Battling back from a break down, Nadal broke Fognini when he served for the second set then stormed through the tie breaker scoring a 6-2, 7-6 (1) victory to reach the Barcelona semifinals for the ninth time.
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It was Nadal's eighth straight win. Continuing his quest for a ninth Barcelona title, the 29-year-old Spaniard will play 10th-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber for a place in Sunday's final. Kohlschreiber crushed 16th-seeded Andrey Kuznetsov, 6-3, 6-1, in 77 minutes.
The 31st-ranked Fognini knows how to unnerve and upset Nadal.
A year ago, Fognini doubled Nadal's winner output (34 to 17) in a 6-4, 7-6 (4), upset to reach the Barcelona quarterfinals. It was Nadal's earliest exit in Barcelona since 2003.
It was Fognini's second straight clay-court victory over Nadal, following his 1-6, 6-2, 7-5 triumph capped with a dazzling match point in the 2015 Rio semifinals. That victory snapped Nadal's 52-match winning streak in clay-court semifinals.
The 2015 Australian Open doubles champion is the first man to beat Nadal in straight sets in Barcelona and the first to fight back from a two-set deficit to stun Nadal at the 2015 US Open.
Aggressive court positioning, the ability to drive the ball down the line off both wings and fine feel are all assets Fognini can apply to disrupt the King of Clay.
Determined to get off quickly in rallies, Nadal fired his forehand down the line with ambition breaking in Fognini's first two service games to burst out of the blocks to an ideal 4-0 start.
Finding his range, Fognini broke back in the fifth game. Halting Fognini's two-game run, Nadal hammered a forehand down the line for 5-2.
Three primary differences between this match and several of their 2015 battles:
1. Nadal hit his backhand with more depth and ambition to prevent Fognini from stepping into the court.
2. The nine-time Roland Garros champion beat his opponent to the punch zapping down the line strikes.
3. Knowing Fognini is so dangerous attacking second-serve returns, Nadal limited those opportunities serving 86 percent in the set.
Lacing a running forehand winner down the line, Nadal earned a third set point. When Fognini put a flat backhand into net, Nadal had his third break of the day and a one-set advantage after a controlled 39-minute set.
Searching for reprieve, Fognini took an injury time-out for treatment for a sore shoulder after the opening set.
Struggling to find any slight cracks in Nadal's defense, Fognini sprayed a couple of more shots as the eight-time champion broke again building a 2-0 second-set lead.
Providing a stirring reminder of his shot-making skills, Fognini smacked a sling-shot backhand pass breaking back for 1-2.
Midway through the second set, both men elevated their games ratcheting up rallies to exhilarating levels. Knowing Nadal favors the slider serve on the ad side, Fognini slid to his left and was in the doubles alley when he hit a bold backhand return breaking for 3-2.
Impeccable timing, aggressive court positioning and a willingness to challenge Nadal's lethal forehand are all reasons why the creative Italian has posed such a threat to the Spaniard. Fognini fought off a break point with a forehand winner down the line. Attacking the Spaniard's forehand with an diagonal drive, Fognini dipped a backhand winner down the line snatching a 4-2 lead.
Serving for the set, Fognini found the lines three times. Against most players that would have been enough to force a decisive set.
It wasn't enough today. Defending with vigor, Nadal lashed an inside-out forehand for break point. Dancing around his backhand, Fognini launched a forehand well beyond the baseline as Nadal broke back for 5-all.
Staring down triple match point, Fognini brought the magic answering with three straight winners, slashing a forehand on the third match point. Touch solved Fognini's trouble. Three drop shots, including an exquisite backhand drop shot winner helped him hold.
That leaping high backhand volley from Nadal that opened the tie break revved him up and left Fognini shaking in frustration. Exploiting three errors, Nadal expanded his lead earning match points when Fognini framed a forehand.
Nadal zapped a wide serve to conclude an impressive one hour, 49-minute victory.