Rafael Nadal’s bid to get back to top form before the French Open suffered a setback when he crashed to a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), defeat by the 13th-seeded Italian, Fabio Fognini, in the third round of the Barcelona Open.
Nadal, the world No4 and second seed, produced an erratic performance on the clay in the Catalan capital and the big-hitting Fognini punished the Spaniard’s errors to end Nadal’s bid for a ninth Barcelona title.
Fognini, who beat Nadal on clay in the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro in February, his first win over the 14-times grand slam champion, will play another Spaniard, the unseeded Pablo Andújar, in Friday’s quarter-finals.