Nadal, Ferrer meet again in Barcelona final

BARCELONA, Spain, April 28 (UPI) -- Rafael Nadal blew past fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in straight sets Saturday to reach the finals of the Barcelona Open.

Nadal beat Verdasco on the clay surface 6-0, 6-4 and advanced to Sunday's championship match against yet another Spaniard, David Ferrer, in a rematch of last year's final.

Ferrer had a tough time with Canadian Milos Raonic but prevailed 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-5) and will face Nadal for the title at the Real Club for the fourth time.

Nadal has made a career of playing on clay. Of his 47 career titles, 33 have been on clay courts.

Nadal looked right at home Saturday. He needed 85 minutes to finish off Verdasco and lost just five points on serve in the first set.

Ferrer had a tougher slog against Raonic but was able to pull both sets out of the fire in tiebreakers.