Nadal, Murray ease into Barcelona Open quarterfinals

The Spaniard beat Kevin Anderson 6-3, 6-4 while the top seed overcame Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4.

Rafael Nadal did not face a single break point in his match against Anderson. The former world number one continued his devastating form on clay, losing just nine points in his service games.

Nadal continues to dominate on clay. Photo: Barcelona Open.

Nadal had 10 break points but only converted two, once in each set. This was his 50th win at the Barcelona Open and the Spaniard is aiming for his 10th title here, similar to what he did in Monte Carlo.

"It was not a day when I could score easy points because the court was very heavy. But I served well, with good speed and good changes of direction. I had opportunities to hit forehands after serving and controlled the long rallies. So I'm very happy with the way I played," Nadal said.

Nadal's next opponent is South Korean Hyeon Chung, who defeated young star Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-4 to advance. Hyeon has never faced Nadal before. The 20-year-old is in good form, having won back-to-back ATP Challenger Tour titles in Kaohsiung, Kobe and Maui. Hyeon has yet to drop a set at this year's Barcelona Open.

In the match that followed, Andy Murray beat Feliciano Lopez to keep his hopes of reaching his first Barcelona Open final alive. The Scot broke first and had a chance to win the first set when he served out the ninth set at 5-3. Murray failed to capitalise, but he broke again in the next game.

The second set was more tense but again an early break point gave Murray the advantage. The top seed finished the match after an hour and 49 minutes and will meet the winner of the match between Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Roberto Bautista-Agut in the quarter-finals.

According to VNE