Nadal seeks Kei to 9th title

BARCELONA, April 23

Top seed Rafael Nadal set up the title clash against defending champion Kei Nishikori with a 6-3 6-3 win over 10th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber in the semifinals of Barcelona Open today.

Nadal, who won his ninth title at the Monte Carlo Masters last week, is seeking a ninth Barcelona Open title as well. Nadal will equal former Argentine great Guillermo Vilas’ record of 49 claycourt titles if he wins on Sunday.

Nishikori eased into his third consecutive final here with a 6-3 6-2 win over French sixth seed Benoit Paire.

The Japanese world No. 6 has yet to drop a set in the Catalan capital this week.

“I love Barcelona, I’m very comfortable playing this tournament. It’s been great this three years and I hope I can play a very good match tomorrow,” Nishikori said.

“I’ll try to watch a little bit (of the other semifinal) maybe not the whole thing, but I hope to take something from today’s match and prepare for tomorrow.”

Paire had beaten Nishikori in their two most recent meetings in Nishikori’s homeland in Tokyo and in a five-set thriller at the US Open last year. 

However, Nishikori rarely looked troubled after breaking to lead 3-2 before a second break sealed the first set 6-3.

Both players struggled on serve early in the second, but three breaks in the first four games put Nishikori 3-1 in front and he went on to seal his 14th straight win in Barcelona in just over an hour on court. — AFP

Kerber beats Kvitova to reach Stuttgart final

Stuttgart: Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber reached the final of Stuttgart’s WTA Grand Prix indoor clay-court tournament with a gritty 6-4 4-6 6-2 semifinal win over Petra Kvitova today. Defending champion Kerber needed just over two hours to seal her win after Kvitova recovered from losing the first set to win the tight second. Second seed Kerber dug deep in the third by making the majority of her first serves count to seal the win. “I love winning here — and hate to lose,” beamed Kerber after her win. The German will face compatriot Laura Siegemund, who stunned top seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland 6-4 6-2, in the final. — AFP