BARCELONA, Spain, April 27 (UPI) -- Rafael Nadal, looking for his third consecutive Open Seat title, posted a quarterfinal victory at the clay-court tournament in Spain.
Nadal Friday won his 70th consecutive match on a clay court and advanced to the semifinals of the $1 million Seat Open with a 6-2, 7-5, win over Potito Starace. He had his serve broken in the second set -- the first time that has happened this week.
The world's No. 2-ranked tennis player hasn't lost a clay-court match in more than two years, a span that covers two French Open, two Open Seat and three Monte Carlo titles. He goes against David Ferrer in Saturday's semifinals.
Ferrer, the tournament's fifth-seeded, defeated No. 4 David Nalbandian 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 Friday.
Second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko withdrew because of a wrist injury, giving Guillermo Canas a walkover into the semifinals. Canas is to meet Agustin Calleri, who cruised to a 6-0, 6-3 winner Friday over Oscar Hernandez, in the other semifinal Saturday.
