Tennis-Nadal dumped out by Fognini in Barcelona third round

BARCELONA, April 23 (Reuters) - Rafa Nadal's bid to get back to top form before the French Open suffered a setback when he crashed to a 6-4 7-6 (6) defeat to 13th-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini in the third round of the Barcelona Open on Thursday. Nadal, the world number four and second seed, produced an erratic performance on the clay in the Catalan capital and the big-hitting Fognini punished the Spaniard's errors to end Nadal's bid for a ninth Barcelona title. Fognini, who beat Nadal on clay in the semi-finals in Rio de Janeiro in February, his only win in five previous meetings, will play unseeded Spaniard Pablo Andujar in Friday's quarter-finals. Andujar upset compatriot and fifth seed Feliciano Lopez 6-3 6-4 earlier on Thursday. Nadal, whose 2014 season was wrecked by illness and injury, is looking to rediscover his dominance on the red dust before he makes a bid for a record-extending 10th French Open crown starting at the end of next month. (Writing by Iain Rogers in Madrid, editing by Justin Palmer)