8th time champion will meet two-time defending champion in the final of the ATP Barcelona Open Bancsabadell as Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori both convincingly booked a spot for the final act on the Spanish red clay. In the most fascinating final possible we will finally know the answer to a question many had in the tennis community over the past two years and more exactly since the 2014 final of the Masters 1000 played in Madrid. Back then, Nishikori and Nadal were playing one another only for the second time of their career on clay, with Nadal dominating the first encounter in 2013 at the French Open. In Madrid two years ago, Nishikori played a stunning final, outplaying the Spaniard in the first set to then surrender suddenly to a back problem and ending up retiring down 3-0 in the third set. The question many had was: What would have happened if Kei didn’t get injured? We will now know, as Nadal and Nishikori will meet for the 10th time on Sunday.
Nadal has won 8 of the 9 matches he played against Nishikori before, the most recent being the match played in Indian Wells, where the Spaniard didn’t lose a set winning easily by 6-4 6-3. With both players having found a second home in the past in Barcelona, the quality of the match should be high and the clash should be entertaining.
The first player to book a spot in the final on Saturday was the Japanese, who beat French Benoit Paire by 6-3 6-2 avenging the losses faced against Paire at the US Open and Tokyo in 2015. Nishikori was just too solid for Paire, forcing on the forehand and moving the French around the court to start dominating early on. After just 67 minutes, Kei won the match to reach his 3rd final of this 2016 season. The Japanese will be competing in his 17th ATP final on Sunday, bidding for a 12th career title.
Later in the day, Nadal continued his domination over Philipp Kohlschreiber, beating the German for the 12th time in 13 mathes winning by 6-3 6-3. Despite not playing his best tennis, Nadal grinded the German from the baseline, staying solid and playing deep. The only moment Nadal had to recover was when serving 5-3 in the first set, when the Spaniard trailed back 0-30. Saved that game, Rafa was down a break and 3-2 in the second, before reacting promptly to conquer four games in a row and close down the match after 1 hour and 32 minutes. Nadal will play in his final number 101, the third in the 2016 season. The Spaniard will be seeking a 69th ATP title.
