Leonardo Mayer books Barcelona Open clash against Rafael Nadal

Leonardo Mayer saw off the challenge of Marius Copil in the opening round of the Barcelona Open to set up a date with top seed Rafael Nadal in the next round.

The Argentine came through a tricky encounter against Copil, winning 6-3, 6-7 (3-7), 7-5 in more than two and a half hours.

The only break in the deciding set came right at the death with Mayer breaking to love in game 12 to earn a second-round clash against 11-time winner Nadal, who had a bye in the opening round.

Second seed Alexander Zverev will face lucky loser Nicolas Jarry after the Chilean beat Marcel Granollers 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 while the third-seeded Dominic Thiem faces a tricky encounter against Diego Schwartzman.

.@NicoJarry is PUMPED! 💪

The Chilean defeats Marcel Granollers 7-5 4-6 6-4.@bcnopenbs pic.twitter.com/iaH36Mb1dP

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 22, 2019

Argentine Schwartzman got the better of Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

In an all-Spanish encounter, Fernando Verdasco defeated wildcard Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-3 to set up a clash against 13th seed Grigor Dimitrov while Taylor Fritz won the all-American encounter when he defeated Reilly Opelka 6-3, 6-4.

In the final game of the day, Benoit Paire overcame Juan Ignacio Londero 7-5, 6-2.

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