Spain’s Rafael Nadal raises his arm after winning his men’s singles match against Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer at the Barcelona Open Tennis Tournament. (Source: AP Photo)Rafael Nadal recovered from a slow start to defeat Leonard Mayer 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2 and advance to the third round of the Barcelona Open on Wednesday, keeping alive his streak of never losing consecutive matches on clay.
The second-ranked Nadal was coming off a loss in the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Open, when he was eliminated by Fabio Fognini.
An 11-time champion in Barcelona, Nadal will next play fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.
The top-seeded Nadal squandered two set points after exchanging breaks late in the first set. He rebounded quickly by breaking Mayer’s serve in the first game of the second set, then cruised to victory against the 63rd-ranked Argentine.
