And Now It’s 45 For Nadal
The defending champion and top seed Rafael Nadal lost the opening set and was 4-1 down in the second before coming back to beat Finn Jarkko Nieminen 4-6 6-4 6-3 to reach the last four at the Barcelona Open and extend his winning streak on clay to 45 matches.
He is now just one behind second-placed Bjorn Borg on the all-time wins list.
He will next face unseeded compatriot Nicolas Almagro, while Tommy Robredo will play the only non-Spaniard left, Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka
“It was a really difficult match,” said Nadal, who is chasing Argentine Guillermo Vilas’ record on clay of 53.
“It was really hard in the second set but I was always thinking about victory. From 1-4 if I could have five good games I could win.”
Almagro upset 10th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 6-3, while Robredo - who earlier finished off his rain-delayed third-round match with Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-3 2-6 6-2 - followed it up by beating Czech fourth seed Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-2.
Wawrinka defeated unseeded Ivo Karlovic 4-6 6-3 6-4, becoming the first man to break the Croatian’s serve this week.
