 Nadal is one match away from beating Borg's clay-court record |
Rafael Nadal has extended his winning streak on clay to 46 matches, to draw level with Swedish legend Bjorn Borg in second place in the all-time list. The Spanish world number two reached the landmark with a 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 defeat of countryman Nicolas Almagro in the Barcelona Open semi-finals.
Nadal will take on another Spaniard, sixth seed Tommy Robredo, in the final.
Robredo beat unseeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 6-4 in 87 minutes to reach his first final of the year.
It will be the sixth final in the career of Robredo, who won this tournament in 2004.
 |  We may have the same number of wins on clay, but Borg made tennis history |
After edging the first set, Robredo broke twice to lead 5-2 in the second before wasting four match points.
Nadal is chasing Argentine Guillermo Vilas' all-time record on clay of 53 consecutive wins.
The 19-year-old, whose unbeaten run on clay stretches back to April 2005, was thrilled to match Borg's feat but said his own achievement could not compare and his priority was to win the title.
He said: "The record is nice, but it's not my main concern. The most important thing is to win the title again.
"We may have the same number of wins on clay, but Borg made tennis history, and he won five Wimbledons.
"I am just making my way. For now the most important thing is to win this tournament."
MMIX
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