Nadal makes smooth start to Barcelona defence

BARCELONA (Reuters) - Rafael Nadal made a smooth start to his bid for a fourth consecutive Barcelona Open title as he powered to a 6-4 6-2 win over Italy's Potito Starace in the second round on Wednesday.

The top seed and three times French Open champion continued his winning run following his triumph in Monte Carlo last week and eased to victory in 78 minutes.

Nadal next plays Spanish compatriot Feliciano Lopez, one of his closest friends on tour, for a place in the quarter-finals.

"These courts are quite fast and he is a very dangerous player," the world number two told reporters.

Having beaten Roger Federer to win in Monte Carlo, Nadal faces a daunting task to retain his crown here and then win the back-to-back Masters events in Rome and Hamburg.

Changes to the calendar this year to accommodate the Olympic Games mean Nadal will play four weeks in a row and then have just a week off before the French Open.

"It's more difficult psychologically than physically," he said. "Maybe if I wasn't treated like a rock star here (by the fans) I might not have played."

NADAL CRUISES

World number 45 Starace matched Nadal in the early stages and had a break point to lead 3-2 but the Spaniard held on and then broke in the 10th game to win the set.

After the pair traded breaks early in the second set, Nadal broke again in the fourth game and then cruised to victory.

Second seed David Ferrer needed just 49 minutes to demolish fellow Spaniard Gabriel Trujillo-Soler, the world number 237. His 6-1 6-1 win set up a match with Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador.

Fourth seed James Blake, number five Carlos Moya and eighth seed Ivo Karlovic were all beaten, though.

Blake, who only flew in from the United States on Tuesday, looked rusty as he lost 6-1 6-4 to German Denis Gremelmayr.

"That's a match I don't want to think about for too long," Blake said. "Hopefully, I will learn from it for the big tournaments ahead."

Former champion Moya lost 4-6 6-1 6-4 to Latvian Ernests Gulbis, while Karlovic was ousted 6-7 6-3 7-5 by Spaniard Albert Montanes.

Sixth seed Tommy Robredo beat Dutchman Robin Haase 6-2 6-4 and ninth seed Guillermo Canas, runner-up last year, cruised past Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili 6-1 6-2.

Swiss 14th seed Stanislas Wawrinka beat Yuri Schukin, a lucky loser from Kazakhstan, 6-3 6-4 to set up a third-round clash with third seed David Nalbandian.

(Editing by Ken Ferris)