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Tennis: Nadal, Ferrer will meet for Barcelona Open title
BARCELONA, Spain—Three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal cruised past Denis Gremelmayr 6-1, 6-0 Saturday to reach his fourth straight Barcelona Open final.
On Sunday, Nadal will play second-seeded David Ferrer, who defeated Stanislas Wawrinka 7-6 (8), 6-3. Nadal defeated Ferrer in the quarterfinals at Monte Carlo last week en route to a fourth straight trophy. Nadal won his 20th straight match on the clay courts in Barcelona. The Spaniard is 19-1 in clay-court finals, including 3-0 at Barcelona. “I can’t remember,” Nadal said about other 6-0 games to reach a final. “I played nearly perfectly.” Nadal looked in control from the start, converting his first break point with a stinging forehand down the line for a 3-1 lead. He won his serve at love for the second time in the next game before breaking Gremelmayr again with a backhand down the line. Nadal clinched the first set in 26 minutes when the 85th-ranked Gremelmayr returned long. Gremelmayr was broken three times in the second set, twice at love. Ferrer won a tight first set, rallying from 5-2 in the tiebreaker. In the second set, Wawrinka slapped a backhand wide again to give Ferrer the first break of the second set and a 3-2 lead. BMW Open MUNICH, Germany—Fernando Gonzalez of Chile remained unbeaten on clay this year, beating 36-year-old Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Saturday to reach the BMW Open final. Gonzalez, seeded second, will go for his 10th title Sunday against Simone Bolelli, an Italian who upset top-seeded Paul-Henri Mathieu of France 7-6 (1), 4-6, 7-6 (4). El Aynaoui is the oldest semifinalist on the ATP Tour since Jimmy Connors 15 years ago. Connors was 40 when he made the semifinals in San Francisco in 1993. “If someone had told me beforehand that I could reach the semifinals, I would have jumped at it,” said El Aynaoui said, who extended his clay record to 9-0. El Aynaoui, ranked 295th, has been a fan favorite in Munich since he won the 2002 title and tossed off his shoes before hopping into the sports car he won. He had to play three extra matches to qualify for the main field. He broke Gonzalez’s serve to lead 3-2 in the second set after taking the first. Gonzalez broke his racket in anger but lifted his game and won in just under two hours. |
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