Rafael Nadal will take on Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona Open final
World No 1 to face 19-year-old Stefanos Tsitsipas in Sunday's final - live on Sky Sports Arena from 3pm
Saturday 28 April 2018 18:45, UK
Rafael Nadal booked a place in the Barcelona Open final by breezing past David Goffin with his 400th career win on clay.
Nadal also extended his winning streak on clay to 44 consecutive sets with a comfortable 6-4 6-0 win over the Belgian on Saturday.
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Nadal surrendered his service in the opening game and 10th-ranked Goffin held to take a 2-0 lead. But the Spaniard immediately broke back to level and the home favourite broke again in the 10th game to take the first set.
He came into his own in the second as he quickly took control of the match to earn his 18th straight victory on clay.
"I played I think my best match of the tournament so far, no doubt about that. It was a great first set in my opinion. Both of us played at a very high level," Nadal said.
The 31-year-old Spaniard, fresh from an 11th Monte Carlo title last weekend, will meet Greek teenager Tsitsipas in Sunday's showpiece when he will target a record-extending 11th title in Barcelona.
With a record of 400-35, Nadal has the best winning percentage on the surface. He has won a record 54 titles on the dirt.
Tsitsipas, ranked 63, continued his magical run at the event reaching a first ATP final with a 7-5 6-3 win over fifth-seed Pablo Carreno Busta.
The youngster, who pulled off the biggest win of his career on Friday by stunning last year's finalist and world No 7 Dominic Thiem in straight sets, got off to a flying start as he broke his opponent in the second game and marched into a 4-1 lead.
The Spaniard hit back with a break to level at 5-5 but wasted a chance to break again and lost his serve to concede the set.
Tsitsipas broke the 27-year-old for a third time to pull 4-2 ahead in the second and eventually served out the match, collapsing to the ground in elation as he won on his second match point when Carreno Busta hit beyond the baseline
Win or lose on Sunday, Tsitsipas will become the first Greek player to break into the world top 50 when the latest men's rankings are released on Monday.
"Stefanos is a great player. Always the young players have something special and he's playing with big confidence," Nadal added. "He's playing so well, so it's going to be a very tough match. I need to be ready to play at the highest level possible."
Coverage of the ATP Barcelona Open final gets under way on Sky Sports Arena on Sunday from 3pm.
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