TIL Desk Sports/ Rafael Nadal survived a difficult start to see off Chung Hyeon of South Korea in straight sets and reach the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open for a 10th time on Friday. The unseeded Chung, 20, went 3-1 up against the 14-time Grand Slam champion in the first set on the newly renamed Rafa Nadal Court at the Real Tennis Club and forced a tie-break, which the Spaniard eventually won with little trouble.
The newly crowned Monte Carlo Masters champion made light work of the second set, rounding off a 7-6(1), 6-2 victory in the Barcelona sunshine with an ace to set up a semi-final against either Russia’s Karen Khachanov or Argentine Horacio Zeballos on Saturday.
“I have to be honest, I had hardly seen him play, all I had to go on were videos which I watched yesterday,” Nadal said of the little-known Chung. “These young players have a lot of character so I took to the court with respect, perhaps too much, but in the second set I started dominating.” Nadal has won every semi-final he has played in the Barcelona Open, where he is chasing a 10th title.
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