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, defeat to 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 only win in five previous meetings, will play the unseeded Spaniard Pablo Andújar in Friday’s quarter-finals.