Nishikori and Gulbis Both Advance to Barcelona Semis
April 25, 2014 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
The semifinals are nearly set in Barcelona, as the quarterfinal round matches picked up on Friday morning at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The first match that concluded was played between Latvian Ernests Gulbis and Russia’s Teymuraz Gabashvili.
Gabashvili had upset second-seeded David Ferrer earlier in the tournament but was unable to overcome the power of Gulbis, who defeated him in straight sets 6-1, 6-4. Gulbis was on point all day as he converted all five of his break points, and now moves onto the semifinals where he will play Japan’s Kei Nishikori.
"I was a little bit nervous, serving for the match," said Gulbis. “It wasn’t easy, as he played well. I had to play close to my best tennis just to break him."
Nishikori advanced on Friday by taking down Croatia’s Marin Cilic in straight sets. The Japanese player crushed 18 winners to overpower the Croatian and take the match in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. Since missing time with a groin injury, Nishikori seems to have returned to form and looks fresh as he prepares for his first semifinal match ever at the Barcelona Open.
The other quarterfinal matches are set to begin later today, as world number one Rafael Nadal looks to move one step closer to defending his title at Barcelona, squaring off with fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. The winner moves on to face the winner of the match between Philipp Kohlschreiber and Santiago Giraldo.
