Rafael Nadal brought his winning form to the Barcelona Open BancSabadell. Last week’s Monte-Carlo champion dismissed fellow Spaniard Marcel Granollers 6-3, 6-2 in 91 minutes in the second round on Wednesday. Nadal, who had won 41 consecutive matches in Barcelona between 2005 and 2014, is seeking a ninth title at the event.

“Marcel started very strongly and broke me in the first game. It was a difficult match, very windy, which made his game tough to read. He took the initiative from the beginning,” Nadal told BarcelonaOpenBancSabadell.com. “I am playing really well. It was a complicated first round against a player who had just reached the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo, beating three good rivals.”

Nadal, No. 5 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, was broken in the opening game by Granollers, but struck back with two breaks of serve to take the opening set. The left-hander continued to overwhelm the unseeded Granollers with his power and court coverage in the second set, breaking Granollers twice while not facing a break point. In the match, Nadal won 49 per cent (28/57) of return points. He improved to 4-0 in the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry against his countryman and is now 10-2 on clay this year.

Next up for the top seed is another Spaniard. Wild card Albert Montanes defeated Joao Sousa 6-1, 6-3 to book a third-round meeting with Nadal. He had never won a set against Nadal in three previous tour-level encounters.

On his 19th birthday, #NextGen star Alexander Zverev booked his spot in the third round of the Barcelona Open BancSabadell with a battling 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-5 victory over 15th seed Thomaz Bellucci.

The German, who won the ATP Star of Tomorrow presented by Emirates award last year, is on the verge of the Top 50 and improved to a 13-9 match record on the season after prevailing in two hours and 28 minutes.

“This is the best birthday present. I have never played a tournament on my birthday before,” said Zverev, who received a birthday cake from tournament director, Albert Costa, during the post-match press conference.”

Zverev served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, but could not close it out as Bellucci fought back to force a decider. Zverev then rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third set, breaking Bellucci to love in the 12th game to seal victory.

“Bellucci is a great player on clay and this will give me confidence. It will be difficult, but I hope to achieve a great result and continue winning here in Barcelona.”

Zverev goes on to face Malek Jaziri, who defeated Renzo Olivo 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.

Zverev’s countryman, 10th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, cruised through, dismissing Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 6-1 in just 69 minutes.

Italy’s Fabio Fognini fought from a set down to finish strongly in a 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 win over Mikhail Youzhny. He goes on to face Viktor Troicki, who defeated qualifier Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 1-6, 6-0 in one hour and 49 minutes.

Second seed Kei Nishikori opened his title defence at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Thiemo de Bakker.

The Japanese star has won 11 straight matches at this ATP World Tour 500 clay-court tournament and continued his winning run with victory over de Bakker in 69 minutes. Nishikori claimed his second win of the season over the No. 102-ranked de Bakker as he won 74 per cent of his service points and broke serve three times.

“I’m happy to be back in Barcelona,” said Nishikori. “Today’s conditions were tough with the wind and I’m happy to be in the next round.”

The 26-year-old Nishikori is playing his first clay-court tournament of the season and improved to 20-6 in 2016. The right-hander is coming off a runner-up showing at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in Miami (l. to Djokovic) and captured his 11^th title in Memphis (d. Fritz) in February.

The two-time defending Barcelona champion goes on to face Jeremy Chardy.

Seventh seed Feliciano Lopez edged Ivan Dodig 7-6(5), 6-4 to move into the third round. Lopez dropped serve twice but went 3-for-9 on break points to advance in one hour and 46 minutes. He moved ahead 3-2 in the pair’s FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry and will now face tenth seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who eased past Pablo Carreno Busta 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour.

Ninth seed Pablo Cuevas saw off Spanish left-hander Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 7-5. Cuevas failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, but swept the last two games to set up a third-round clash against sixth seed Benoit Paire.

World No. 16 John Isner was on hand Monday in Atlanta, travelling around the city to make appearances on radio stations and television broadcasts to promote the 2016 BB&T Atlanta Open. The three-time defending champion visited with kids at an after-school program as well as the North Georgia Regional President of the title sponsor, Donta Wilson.

“I always enjoy playing in Atlanta and having the support of a lot of Bulldog fans,” said the American. “The crowds are great and I look forward to coming back to defend my title again this summer.”

The BB&T Atlanta Open takes place 1-7 August.

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Karen Khachanov, part of the ATP’s Next Generation, saved one match point Monday at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell. On Tuesday, he once again held his nerve to defeat World No. 17 Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-3 in his first match against a Top 20 player.

“Honestly it’s feels great for me,” said the 19-year-old qualifier following the two hour, 25-minute battle. “It’s an unbelievable win – one of the highest players I’ve ever beat. To play on centre court here in Barcelona, almost in my second hometown after Moscow because I’m practising here, it’s amazing.”

Khachanov, who is coached by Spaniard Galo Blanco, previously achieved his best tour-level result in his other hometown of Moscow. In 2013, as a wild card, he defeated former champion Janko Tipsarevic to become the first 17 year old to reach an ATP World Tour quarter-final since Kei Nishikori in 2007 (Indianapolis). He went from unranked to No. 513 in the Emirates ATP Rankings following his first two tour-level events that autumn: St. Petersburg (2R – d. Hanescu, l. to Rosol) and Moscow (d. Ramos-Vinolas, Tipsarevic, l. to Karlovic). 

This week, he entered Barcelona at No. 138 – three back of his career-high Emirates ATP Ranking – and won two matches in qualifying, both in three sets, to earn his place alongside three other Next Generation players – Alexander Zverev, Hyeon Chung and Elias Ymer – in the main draw.

“All these guys, we are almost the same age. We have been playing from 14 years old in the same tournaments and now we’re coming on the ATP World Tour and it’s great because all of us we improve and hopefully in a few years we can compete against each other and play on the high levels,” he said.

But first, Khachanov has his sights set on the Top 100. “Always you try to have higher goals and then if you achieve, it’s good. If not, you’ll keep working,” he said. “[I need to] keep going like this, to improve my serve, to play more aggressive.”