Rafael Nadal vs. Nicolas Almagro: Score and Recap from 2014 Barcelona Open

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at Internationaled.org

Published: April 25, 2014

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Nicolas Almagro came from behind to stun eight-time Barcelona Open champion Rafael Nadal in arguably the biggest upset in tournament history on Friday, winning in three sets to snap Nadal's 41-match winning streak in the Catalonian capital.

ESPN Tennis confirmed the shocking 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 scoreline:



The result left much of the tennis world in awe, including analyst Brad Gilbert:



With the win, which is his first ever against Nadal, Almagro advances to take on the winner of Santiago Giraldo vs. 10th-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber in one of Saturday's two semifinal matches.



Ironically, prior to Friday's quarterfinal, Nadal admitted to the Associated Press (h/t USA Today) that Thursday's comfortable win over Ivan Dodig provided a huge lift to his confidence.

"There's still some work to do but I definitely took a step forward from yesterday. I move on feeling more assured. I needed this game," he said.

Picking up from where he left off on Thursday night, Nadal started fast on Friday, breaking Almagro in the first game of the opening set to pull ahead.

Surprisingly, Almagro would weather the storm, breaking right back and holding serve in the following game to take a 2-1 lead. As noted by Gilbert, the world No. 20's success was keyed by a series of aggressive shots and forehand winners:



Almagro's excitement would be short-lived, though, as Nadal rallied to win the final five games of the set, breaking twice in that span. Almagro's 15 unforced errors in the opening set were a big reason for his demise.

Almagro would rediscover his rhythm on serve in the second set, but Nadal kept the pressure on, forcing five break points through Almagro's first four service games.

Unfortunately for the world No. 1, he was unable to convert on any. 



The compatriots would hold serve thr...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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