Nadal enters the tournament in a good vein of form

Rafael Nadal began his search for a fifth successive Barcelona Open title with a 6-2 6-2 second-round win over qualifier Frederico Gil on Wednesday.

Nadal, who had a first-round bye, broke Gil four times to set up a tie with Belgium's unseeded Christophe Rochus.

Nikolay Davydenko overcome Arnaud Clement 7-6 (7-2) 6-2 to set up a clash with 16th seed Feliciano Lopez.

Tommy Robredo beat Gaston Gaudio 7-6 6-1 and Gaudio's fellow Argentine David Nalbandian beat Igor Kunitsyn 7-5 6-4.

Chile's fifth seed Fernando Gonzalez overwhelmed fellow South American Jose Acasuso of Argentina 6-4 6-4.

Nadal's 22nd consecutive victory was his 30th of the season and second over Gil after beating the Portuguese player 7-5 6-3 in Miami in March.

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At the weekend, the world number one won the Monte Carlo Masters for the fifth time in a row and he is favourite to win this event.

"Winning has not become routine for me. Tennis is also a sport of losses, someone wins every week - but not always the same player," said the Spaniard.

"Just like in Miami against him [Gil], even though I won easily I never really felt totally comfortable until the end."

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