Nadal targets 10 in Barcelona

Rafael Nadal has reached the final of the Barcelona Open by dispatching Argentine Horacio Zeballos 6-3 6-4 to book his place in Sunday’s showpiece, where he will be looking to win the tournament for a 10th time.

Nadal struck the first blow on Saturday by breaking the unseeded Zeballos in the fourth game and the difference in quality between the two players soon began to show.

Zeballos earned two break points in the fourth game of the second set but 14-time Grand Slam winner Nadal recovered to hold his serve and wrapped up his victory in 94 minutes, setting up a rematch with Dominic Thiem, who beat him last year on clay in the Argentina Open semifinals.

Thiem knocked out world No.1 Andy Murray 6-2 3-6 6-4 for the first time in his career, becoming the first Austrian since Thomas Muster in 1996 to reach the final of the claycourt tournament.

Last week, Nadal became the first man in Open Era history to win a tournament title 10 times when he claimed his 10th Monte Carlo Masters trophy.

The Spaniard will also be gunning for “La Decima” in Paris next month; Nadal is a nine-time Roland Garros champion.

Victory there would see him surpass the great Martina Navratilova, who owns nine singles titles at Wimbledon.

Margaret Court holds the record for the most number of singles titles at a major tennis tournament, with 11 Australian Open trophies.