All the reasonable prognosticators had it playing out something like this, Rafael Nadal hurtling his way through the field to the Barcelona Open final. The last six times the Spaniard has laced up the Nikes at the Real Club de Tenis, he's won the trophy. Yesterday, he took out the most recent "other" champion, 2010 winner Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-4. In doing so, Nadal set up a final versus World No. 6 David Ferrer, a 7-6 (2), 6-4 winner over Canadian prospect Milos Raonic in a matchup closer than the score indicates, but one that showed Raonic doesn't seem to be quite ready to join the tour elite just yet. How will this final play out? Here's the BLT take:
