Nadal Beats Struff, facing Thiem in Barcelona SF | ATP Tour

In his first match against Rafael Nadal, Jan-Lennard Struff had the right game plan: serve, volley and hit each ball as hard as possible. But Nadal overcame Struff 's most aggressive record and is now two record – breaking victories.^th Title of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.

The 32-year-old Spaniard made his 12^th Barcelona in semifinal on Friday, winner of Struff 7-5, 7-5 on Pista Rafa Nadal. Nadal has never lost in the semifinal to Barcelona (11-0), but will have a daunting challenge when he faces the fifth favorite, Dominic Thiem. The Austrian defeated Argentina's Guido Pella 7-5, 6-2.

"It was a tight match because he's a very aggressive player, it's hard to keep pace with him, I'm happy with my win, happy to find a way to win this game and I hope to be ready for the semi-finals, "Nadal said. "I try to be focused at all times because of an error and you lose the set against that type of player. I am happy with the way I have managed."

Nadal leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Thiem 8-3, but the Austrian is the only player to have beaten Nadal on clay during the past two seasons (2018 Madrid, 2017 Rome). Thiem also pushed Nadal to five sets during his epic quarterfinal of the US Open last year.

"It's still one of the biggest challenges tennis has to play Rafa on clay, playing it in the tournament that he has already won 11 times, with his own audience in the back, with his Spanish audience It will be incredibly difficult But we have had some great matches in the past and I think we are both playing very well, I hope it will be the same tomorrow, and I think we can we expect a good game, "said Thiem.

Struff has qualified for his second quarterfinal of the season by crushing 31 winners, including 18 from his forehand, against last year's runner-up and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 8. The German knew his quarter-final against Nadal would be short if he tried to hang Nadal from the back of the pitch. So, on every occasion, the German on a distance of 6 "- 5" – while serving or fighting a short ball – ran to.

Nadal broke the fourth game with a first-serve winner who landed just inside the baseline, but Struff paused in the seventh game with an aggressive return on the line. Nadal, however, with the crowd that animates, rises level to break to love in the 12^th play and take the first game.

Struff wisely followed his strategy in the second, but he failed to clear his path in Nadal's service games. The Spaniard got 83% of his first serve in the second set, winning 79% of those points and broke Struff once again in the 12th match.