World No. 1 Rafael Nadal suffered his first defeat in Barcelona since 2003 on Friday when compatriot Nicolas Almagro ended his 41-match winning run in the Spanish city.
Top-seed Nadal, the eight-time champion, lost 2-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to Almagro in a quarter-final lasting 13 minutes short of three hours.
Nadal, who lost in the Monte Carlo Masters quarter-finals to David Ferrer last week, had last been beaten in Barcelona when he was just 15 years old.
Photo: EPA
Despite the defeat, 27-year-old Nadal refused to panic with the defense of his French Open crown starting in just a month’s time.
He said losing a tennis match was nothing compared with the death of former Barcelona soccer coach Tito Vilanova, who lost his battle with cancer at the age of 45 on Friday.
“To lose is not a drama. What has happened to Tito Vilanova is. We are left with his example and I send my support to his family,” Nadal said. “I was better in parts of the match, but sport is like that. It was my turn to lose and I congratulate Nico.”
Photo: EPA
Nadal is to next defend his Madrid and Rome Masters claycourt titles — two of the 10 tournaments he won last year after a seven-month injury lay-off.
He could lose his world No. 1 ranking, with Novak Djokovic set to pounce.
“I lacked a bit of intensity at points in the match,” Nadal said. “That is tennis, and now I have to suffer for a bit, but keep fighting and think about Madrid.”
Friday’s victory was 28-year-old Almagro’s first over Nadal in 11 meetings, a series which included a straight-sets loss in the Barcelona final last year.
He needed two match points to secure his shock triumph while surviving 47 unforced errors. The sixth seed had also been a break down in the deciding set.
Nadal’s last defeat at the tournament was in the second round to compatriot Alex Corretja in 2003 before he skipped the 2004 event through injury.
His loss of the second set to Almagro on Friday was the first he had dropped at the Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona since 2008.
That ended a run of 44 consecutive sets.
“Winning the last point I felt happy for all of my team,” said Almagro, who broke Nadal three times in the final set.
He had trailed 3-1 in the decider and had been 3-1 down in the second-set tiebreaker.
“This victory could mark a turning point in my career. It is a victory against the best player in history on this surfce,” Almagro said. “In the first set it was more difficult for me. He kept me far behind the baseline and I couldn’t find a solution. After that, though, I started to believe in my backhand a bit more to counter his forehand.”
Almagro, the world No. 20, is to face Santiago Giraldo of Colombia for a place in the final.
Giraldo went through when Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber retired with a left-thigh injury while trailing 4-3 in the second set having dropped the first 6-4.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori continued his impressive return to action after a three-week absence due to a groin injury as he beat 12th seed Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-3 to reach the semi-finals.
Nishikori, seeded fourth, was ruthless in the opening set as he broke the big Croat’s serve three times.
The second set was more of a contest, but the world No. 17 still had too much as he sealed victory in just over an hour to register his best-ever run in Barcelona.
Next up for Nishikori is a meeting with Latvian ninth-seed Ernests Gulbis, after he secured his third semi-final appearance of the season with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Russia’s Teimuraz Gabashvili.
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