Fabio Fognini upsets Rafael Nadal to book Barcelona Open quarter-final berth

Fognini caused a massive upset in the third round when he knocked out eight-time champion Nadal.

The clear skies above gave not the slightest hint of the oncoming thunderbolt which struck at the ‘Pista Central’ of the Barcelona tennis complex. Ranked 30 in the world, Fabio Fognini of Italy was the proverbial underdog going into the third-round clash against Rafael Nadal.

However, in a classic case of David beating Goliath, Fognini got the better of the Spaniard, whose clay court season has got off to its worst start ever. Nadal, who came into the Barcelona Open brimming with new found confidence following a semi-final run at the Monte Carlo Masters, was taken out by Fognini in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (6).

Nadal had beaten Nicolas Almagro, who had handed the former a quarter-final loss at the same event last year, in straight sets. Bolstered by his seemingly facile win against Almagro, the eight-time champion at Barcelona was riding the crest of a wave before his dreams of winning a ninth title were brought down by Fognini.

Incidentally, Fognini came into this year’s Barcelona Open, not having won a single match at the event in any of his previous five appearances. But, his fortunes have reversed radically this time around and the win against Nadal will definitely be seen as a culmination of his dramatic turnaround at Barcelona.

A beaming Fognini said that he was glad to have finished the match in straight sets, since beating Nadal would have been extremely difficult had the match progressed to the decider.

"I think today I played really solid tennis; I was hitting the ball really well in both sets. The key, of course, was winning the second set. It would have been difficult playing him at one-set-all, especially the way I would have lost the second set, having had three match points”, said Fognini.

Having defeated the tournament favourite, Fognini will fancy his chances of winning the title, which will take his career tally to four. The Italian will face Pablo Andujar, who caused a small upset himself by taking out fifth seed Feliciano Lopez in three sets, 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (5), in the quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, the tournament top seed Kei Nishikori continued his dominant run in the tournament, dispatching 15th seeded Santiago Giraldo with consummate ease. The Japanese ace dropped a mere three games as he closed out the match, 6-2, 6-1. Nishikori will now face Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals.

Challenge is to get back to my best: Nadal

"It was a disaster today. Fabio played better than me and he deserved to win. I didn't deserve to win. Until I sort out the ups and downs I'm suffering from this season, I will continue to be vulnerable,” said a visibly dejected Nadal, following his upset loss to Fognini in the third round.

"Today is a bad day; but my challenge is to get back to my best level again and I will work until that happens. I have the conviction that it will happen”, he added.

2015 has been a disastrous season for the 14-time Grand Slam champion, who is probably facing a most serious threat to his dominance on clay this year. Nadal will look to turn his fortunes around in the upcoming events.