 Nadal is just one win away from Borg's total on the all-time list |
Rafael Nadal reached the last four at the Barcelona Open to extend his winning streak on clay to 45 matches. The defending champion and top seed lost the opening set and was 4-1 down in the second before coming back to beat Finn Jarkko Nieminen 4-6 6-4 6-3.
He is now just one behind second-placed Bjorn Borg on the all-time wins list.
He will next face unseeded compatriot Nicolas Almagro, while Tommy Robredo will play the only non-Spaniard left, Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka
"It was a really difficult match," said Nadal, who is chasing Argentine Guillermo Vilas' record on clay of 53.
"It was really hard in the second set but I was always thinking about victory. From 1-4 if I could have five good games I could win."
Almagro upset 10th seed Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3 6-3, while Robredo - who earlier finished off his rain-delayed third-round match with Spaniard Fernando Verdasco 6-3 2-6 6-2 - followed it up by beating Czech fourth seed Radek Stepanek 6-3 6-2.
Wawrinka defeated unseeded Ivo Karlovic 4-6 6-3 6-4, becoming the first man to break the Croatian's serve this week.
MMIX
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