BARCELONA, April 29: Rafael Nadal extended his winning streak on clay to 46 after he edged out fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 7-6 6-3 on Saturday to reach the final of the Barcelona Open.
The top seed and defending champion, who will meet compatriot Tommy Robredo in the showpiece match, is now joint second with Bjorn Borg in the Open-era list for consecutive wins on the surface.
Robredo beat unseeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-4 6-4 in the first semifinal.
Nadal was pushed hard in the first set by the hard-hitting Almagro, who had upset Juan Carlos Ferrero and Guillermo Coria to reach the last four.—Agencies