World No 2 Rafael Nadal began his title defence at the Barcelona Open yesterday with a 6-1, 6-2 defeat of compatriot Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, who had defeated the king of clay two years ago in Thailand.
Nadal, champion at the Real Club de Tenis in six of the last seven editions — he missed 2010 with knee trouble — claimed his 30th match victory in a row at his home event.u00a0Garcia-Lopez beat Nadal in Bangkok two years ago indoors and also put out tournament second seed Andy Murray in Indian Wells in March.u00a0
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