Story highlights
World number two Rafael Nadal starts with win at Barcelona Open
Reigning champion enjoys 30th straight victory in the tournament
Former world number one Ana Ivanovic loses to qualifier in Stuttgart
German Mona Barthel watched Ivanovic win French Open whilst at school
Rafael Nadal continued his domination on clay as he crushed compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Barcelona Open.
The Spaniard carved out 15 break points during the match, polishing off Garcia-Lopez in just over 80 minutes. It was Nadal’s 30th straight victory at the event, where he has won six of the last seven titles at the Real Club de Tennis.
Nadal has started the season in ominous form. After battling back from a serious knee injury, the world number two won his first title in ten months last week after finally beating rival – and world number one – Novak Djokovic in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters.
Last year’s beaten finalist David Ferrer also cruised into the third round by beating the Serbian Filip Krajinovic 6-0, 6-3.
“I played pretty well, it was a relatively comfortable start,” the Spaniard told AFP.
“The second set was not as good as the first, but I kept my energy and speed. I had shoulder problems but I had treatment here on Friday. But I still didn’t know last Sunday if I could play.”
Ferrer, who plays fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes next, will be hoping that his shoulder improves significantly over the next few days: he has lost three finals and counting to Nadal.
Elsewhere former women’s world number one Ana Ivanovic lost to 21-year-old German wild-card Mona Barthel in the first round of Stuttgart’s clay-court WTA tournament.
Barthel fired 11 aces as she beat Ivanovic 7-5, 7-6 (7/4) before admitting that the Serb was something of a hero of hers.
“There was something special, because Ana used to be a bit of a role model for me,” Barthel told AFP.
“I was still at school when she won the French Open and I watched it on television.
“At that time all this was a long, long way off for me.”
Ivanovic has struggled to recapture the form that saw her win the French Open four years ago. The same can’t be said for Barthel who has had an incredible 2012. She won the Hobart WTA tournament in January before reaching the third round at the Australian Open. She was only stopped by eventual winner Victoria Azarenka, the current world number one.
Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska eased into the quarterfinals when she beat Hungary’s Greta Arn of Hungary 6-3, 6-4.
