Nadal routs Goffin, reaches Barcelona Open final
Barcelona, April 29 (IANS) Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal, ranked number one in the world, has ruthlessly routed Belgium’s David Goffin 6-4, 6-0 to reach his 11th final of the Barcelona Open, an ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tournament.
Nadal, who has never lost a Barcelona Open final, will square off against Greek rising star Stefanos Tsitsipas, who knocked out fifth-seed Spaniard Pablo Carreño Busta.
Goffin broke Nadal’s serve in the first game during the match on Saturday, but was unable to build on his advantage as the Spaniard restored order in the fourth game, Efe news reported.
Ten-time Barcelona Open champion Nadal broke Goffin’s serve one more time at 5-4 to seal the first set.
Nadal went on to clinch the second set without dropping a game, to earn his 400th clay-court victory.
With the win, Nadal extended his Open Era winning streak to 44 clay-court sets.