Rafael Nadal's impressive form continued as the Spaniard cruised past Marcel Granollers to reach the third round of the Barcelona Open.
Nadal was crowned champion at the Monte Carlo Masters for the ninth time on Sunday and has made a winning start in Barcelona too, beating compatriot Granollers 6-3 6-2 in 91 minutes.
The victory maintains momentum for the world number five, who is growing in confidence after he was knocked out of the first round at the Australian Open in January.
Another strong run in Barcelona, where Nadal won 41 consecutive matches between 2005 and 2014, would strengthen belief the 29-year-old can be a major contender next month at the French Open, where he won his last grand slam title two years ago.
"I am playing really well," Nadal told BarcelonaOpenBancSabadell.com.
"It was a complicated first round against a player who had just reached the quarter-finals in Monte Carlo, beating three good rivals.
"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."
Granollers looked ready to give Nadal a stern test when he broke his opponent's serve in the opening game but that was as good as it got for the world number 50, who was unable to keep pace thereafter.
Nadal hit back with two breaks of serve to take the opening set and then two more in the second to seal victory and book a third-round meeting with another Spaniard, wild card Albert Montanes.
Second seed Kei Nishikori is also through after he eased past Holland's Thiemo de Bakker 6-4 6-2.
Nishikori will now face Frenchman Jeremy Chardy as he bids to join Nadal and Mats Wilander in becoming the third player to win the tournament three consecutive times.
Elsewhere, talented German Alexander Zverev overcame Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci and Italy's Fabio Fognini defeated Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny.
Source: PA
