BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal served up back-to-back finishing aces on Friday as the Spaniard's claycourt juggernaut headed closer to a seventh title at the Barcelona Open with a 6-2, 6-2 thrashing of Janko Tipsarevic.
Nadal's quarter-final win in 83 minutes, with five breaks of serve, helped the French Open champion take his record here to 33-1, with 32 straight wins.
Top seed Nadal will play compatriot Fernando Verdasco, the 2010 winner when Nadal did not compete due to injury, after Kei Nishikori of Japan was forced to retire from their quarter-final with a side-strain in the first set.(AFP)