Barcelona Open: Rain holds up Nadal; Almagro, Monaco reach quarters

Summer showers hammered away relentlessly for much of the afternoon, leaving the schedule in disarray at the Barcelona Open. The rain started pelting just moments before Rafael Nadal was to take court against Benoit Paire, seeking his place in the last eight. The downpour was bad enough to leave the courts wrapped under covers and the players holed indoors, facing the prospect of playing twice on Friday to reach the semi-finals. Before the skies opened, there was enough time for Nicolas Almagro, Juan Monaco and Thomaz Bellucci to complete their matches and advance to the quarter-finals. Philipp Kohlschreiber wasn’t as lucky as he was driven off the courts by the raindrops even as he was battling back from a first set loss against Martin Klizan. The German had taken the second set on a breaker and was serving at 30-30, trying to keep the set on serve at 3-4 in the decider.

Monaco was in rampant form in the first match of the day, needing barely 21 minutes to serve a bagel to Jeremy Chardy. Stung by the licking he received, Chardy went about fixing the leaks and the match took a completely different hue in the second set. This time, it was Monaco who had to fight hard and survive four deuces before holding to 2-2. Eventually, Chardy made the first move though, breaking the Argentine to love and taking a 5-3 lead. Unfortunately, Chardy wilted when serving for the set and the match was back on serve. With Chardy looking to wrest control, the tenth game lasted 16 points and Monaco saved three set points to remain even in the set at 5-5.

Neither man was willing to blink and it took an intense tiebreaker to decide the set. The Frenchman helped himself to a 3-1 lead at the start of the breaker but Monaco won five of the next seven points to earn his first match point. Chardy would have none of it as he turned on his resilient best to keep his hopes alive. As the breaker stretched on, Chardy earned a couple of set points just after saving two more match points. Eventually, the set ended after an hour and 21 minutes when Monaco earned his sixth mini-break to clinch a 6-0, 7-6(11) victory to reach the quarters.

Almagro surrendered the first game without scoring a point on his own serve but recovered promptly to take the next four games and snatch control of the set. His compatriot, Marcel Granollers-Pujol, sought to fight back even as Almagro served for the set but the 36th ranked player squandered three break points and the world No. 11 took advantage to wrap up the first set 6-3. The second set stayed even to 4-4 when Almagro stole a decisive break in the ninth game before serving out the match on his first opportunity after an hour and 35 minutes on Pista Central.

The Brazilian, Bellucci, has long been regarded among the most talented of young men – but, like many in his league, has precious little to show for it despite loitering the tennis circus for eight long years. The 25-year-old made his first quarterfinal since his runner-up finish in Moscow last October, making a smart recovery to nip the ambitions of Dmitry Tursunov. The Russian had an erratic outing and despite winning the first set, failed to consolidate the gains from his brilliant victory over David Ferrer on Wednesday. Bellucci lost serve twice in the first set to fall behind, but found rhythm as the match wore on even as Tursunov lost his bearings.

Bellucci broke Tursunov thrice in a one sided second set and an early break in the third enabled the Brazilian to sit tight and book himself a passage into the last eight on his fourth match point. Both men served eight aces, but crucially Tursunov gifted as many as eight double faults. Bellucci had the Russian on the ropes for the later part of the contest, converting five out of twenty breakpoints to complete a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory in just under two hours. The 44th ranked player will take on the winner of the incomplete match between Klizan and Kohlschreiber on Friday.

With a full day of action scheduled for Friday, Rafael Nadal will open the action on Pista Central and a victory over Benoit Paire will bring him back on the court later in the afternoon against the winner of the match between Kei Nishikori and Albert Ramos.