Rafael Nadal showed no mercy towards an emotional David Ferrer as he eased into the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open on Thursday with a straight-sets victory. Ferrer is set to retire after the Madrid Open next month and made a tearful exit on what was his last appearance at this tournament. But there was no room for sentiment for Nadal, who won 6-3, 6-3 to take one step closer to a record 12th Barcelona title. Four of those triumphs came after beating Ferrer in the final and, at the end of this latest victory, Nadal's 37-year-old opponent saluted the crowd before placing his pink headband down on the service line. Ferrer reached a career-high ranking of number three in the world in 2013.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2019

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