Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori will both aim for records in the final of the Barcelona Open after the pair of showcase seeds produced straight-set semi-final wins yesterday.
Top seed Nadal beat German Philipp Kohlschreiber for the 12th time in 13 meetings, posting a 6-3, 6-3 victory to stand on the verge of a record ninth title in the Catalan capital as well as a possible record-tying 49th clay trophy.
Nadal is placed one spot behind the all-time record of clay honours held by Guillermo Vilas from three decades ago.
Nishikori, winner of the last two Barcelona editions and seeded second, claimed his 14th straight match at the Real Club de Tenis in quickfire style, taking 66 minutes to eliminate Benoit Paire 6-3, 6-2.
If he wins his third straight title, ATP number six Nishikori could join Nadal and Mats Wilander as the only men to have produced three in a row at the event.
Nadal and Nishikori are both into their third finals of the season and are also set to play their second final in succession.
Nadal won Monte Carlo last weekend while Nishikori lost the Miami final to Novak Djokovic, the last event he played prior to Spain.
Nadal spent 91 minutes in handing Kohlschreiber a fifth loss on clay in their series. The German was plagued by 37 unforced errors while Nadal thrilled his home fans with 18 winners and three breaks of serve.
“I’m just glad to be in the final,” Nadal said. “I’m playing well this week. I really get the support when I play here in Spain, it helps so much. I’ll need more of it for this final. I’ll be preparing as best I can for a tough one.”
Nishikori totally dominated Paire and ended a two-match losing streak from last autumn against the French sixth seed. Asia’s top player prevailed with five breaks as Paire made 27 unforced errors.
Paire fought to save four match-points in the final game but went down to defeat on Nishikori’s fifth with a volley error.
“He can be on and off his game,” Nishikori said. “He’s got a great backhand and serve, but he was not making many first serves today. I tried to step in and attack his second serve. I was a little shaky in the second set but I’m happy to win and reach another final. I love Spain and always feel very comfortable playing in Barcelona.  I’ve had good luck for the last two years and hope for more of the same in the final.”
Paire had defeated Nishikori last year at the US Open and then in Tokyo a month later, a home embarrassment for the Japanese ace.

Pouille to face Verdasco in Bucharest title clash
French hope Lucas Pouille reached an ATP top-level tour final for the first time in his career thanks to a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 win over Federico Delbonis of Argentina in Bucharest yesterday. The 22-year-old, ranked 72nd in the world, reached the round of 16 at Monte Carlo last week as he opened his clay-court season leading up to the French Open, which starts in Paris in late May.
In the final in Bucharest, he will meet Fernando Verdasco, who defeated fellow Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the other semi. A former top-10 player, Verdasco has fallen on harder times of late and has dropped to 86th place in the world rankings. He has won six ATP Tour titles during his career, four of them coming on clay. His last tournament win came two years ago in Houston, Texas.

Kerber outlasts Kvitova to reach Stuttgart final again
Title holder Angelique Kerber outlasted two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 yesterday to reach the Porsche Grand Prix final again. The second-seeded Australian Open champion Kerber claimed victory over tournament number five Kvitova in 2 hours 3 minutes, breaking a 2-2 tie with four unanswered games to triumph on her first match-point in front of a partisan German home crowd.
In today’s final, Kerber will meet fellow German surprise package Laura Siegemund, a 71st-ranked qualifier who saw off top seed Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in straight sets 6-4, 6-2. Siegemund ousted top 10 players Simona Halep and Roberta Vinci in previous matches.
“I am delighted to be in the final again,” Kerber said.
“It is always tough against Petra. The crowd really pushed me when I was a little down after the second set. I then started well into the third which helped.”
Kerber drew first blood for 2-1 when Kvitova double-faulted three times in a row, and a fourth break overall in the set made it 6-4. The second went with serve until Kvitova broke to love to lock the sets.
The German then got the deciding break for 3-2 in the battle of two left-handers when her shot off the frame of her racket just fell in and Kvitova hit a backhand wide. She wrapped up matters on another mistake from her Czech opponent, Kvitova’s 33rd error to Kerber’s 14.
Kerber squared the series with Kvitova at 4-4 and has high hopes to lift her second trophy of the year after the Melbourne triumph, and a ninth overall.
“I know I can do it, I have proven it,” Kerber said. “This week is very special. I wanted to get to the final and want to win it again.”
Kvitova said: “Angie played so good today” and acknowledged that “I had no energy left in the end” but she was happy overall with her first semi-final spot of the year ahead of the Madrid Masters where she aims to defend her title in early May.