Rafael Nadal made a smooth start to his bid for a fourth consecutive Barcelona Open title as he powered to a 6-4, 6-2 win over Italy's Potito Starace in the second round on Wednesday.
The top seed and three-times French Open champion continued his winning run following his triumph in Monte Carlo last week and eased to victory in 78 minutes.
Nadal will now play Spanish compatriot Feliciano Lopez for a place in the quarter-finals.
World number 45 Starace matched Nadal in the early stages and had a break point to lead 3-2 but the Spaniard held on and then broke in the 10th game to win the set.
The pair traded breaks early in the second set but Nadal broke again in the fourth game and then cruised to victory.
Second seed David Ferrer needed just 49 minutes to demolish fellow Spaniard Gabriel Trujillo-Soler, the world number 237. His 6-1, 6-1 win earned him a meeting with Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador.
Sixth seed Tommy Robredo beat Dutchman Robin Haase 6-2, 6-4, but eighth seed Ivo Karlovic was a surprise loser, going down 6-7, 6-3, 7-5 to another Spaniard Albert Montanes.
Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka eased past Yuri Schukin, a lucky loser from Kazakhstan, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a third-round clash with third seed David Nalbandian.
© 2024 Rediff.com -