Rafael Nadal cruises past Daniel Gimeno-Traver at the Barcelona Open
World Number 1 Rafael Nadal began his 2011 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell run today, blazing into the second round of the tournament after defeating compatriot Daniel Gimeno-Traver in easy straights. The match was an extremely easy
one for the top player, who barely broke a sweat as he covered the court from the baseline to shatter Gimeno-Traver in the match. Rafael ‘Rafa’ Nadal set up a winning score-line of two fries, 6-1, 6-1. The match lasted just over one hour and six minutes.
Rafael Nadal blazed into his opening match at the tournament, playing the signature tennis which he is so famous for. Both players scored two aces in the first set, but Nadal took an obvious advantage by breaking the player twice.
The Spanish pro then took 30 of the points in the first set to win 64 per cent of the total played, taking a significant lead with 6-1 in the first set.
Gimeno-Traver had probably all but given up at this point in the match, although he managed to score two aces in the second set. Nadal went on in this half of the match to win 90 per cent of his first serve points. He also broke
his Spanish opponent three times, and remained unbroken throughout the match. Gimeno-Traver was floundering at this point, and only saved one break point. Despite this, he managed to score two aces without committing any double faults during the match.
All in all, Rafael Nadal scored two aces during the match, and did not commit any double faults. The player won a total of 83 per cent of his first serve points, and remained unbroken throughout the match. However, he converted
four of nine break points successfully. The match ended with a 6-1, 6-1 victory for the World Number 1.
Rafa has just won his seventh straight title at the Monte Carlo Masters, and is the favourite to win this event. If he takes the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell title for this year, it will be his sixth trophy at the tournament. He
will be competing against Santiago Giraldo in the third round.
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