Rafael Nadal is back on top of his mental and physical game after completing a fortnight of history-making with the Spanish king of clay adding another line for the record books on Sunday. The world number two became the first man to win two separate events seven times, as he defeated battling compatriot David Ferrer 7-6 (7/1), 7-5 to win a seventh trophy at the Barcelona Open. That success came seven days after he thrashed world number one Novak Djokovic for an eighth consecutive title at the Monte Carlo Masters.
At the start of the month, Nadal would not have liked his victory chances after being forced to quit before his Miami semi-final with Andy Murray due to left knee pain. But a week or so of therapy, married to his iron will, has put the 25-year-old on course for what would be an unprecedented seventh French Open title.
His Barcelona triumph marked his seventh title in eight editions, with his only loss prior to 34 straight victories coming in 2003 to current Davis Cup captain Alex Corretja. “I’ve won two extremely difficult events — Monte Carlo and Barcelona without losing a set,” said Nadal. “No one deserves more than David to win here, but I had the luck on the day.
“When you play your best, as I always say, it’s because the opponent makes you do so; that’s what David did. I was able to play some of my best tennis in the first set.
“You have to really enjoy the victories as you never know when you will have another one. I’m very happy to win but I’m only looking ahead to Madrid.” Nadal takes a well-deserved week off before heading to the Spanish capital for the Madrid Masters staring next Sunday.
His Barcelona victory came a decade to the day since he made his winning ATP debut on his home island of Mallorca. Now he owns 34 claycourt titles and has lost only four finals on the surface. He now has 48 career trophies overall. “I don’t know when I’ll go to Madrid. But since it is played at altitude, you have to prepare for that. It’s totally different from Monte Carlo, Rome and Paris,” he added.
Spaniards have dominated Barcelona, with Nadal beating Ferrer four times for the title and it was the 10th consecutive year that a pair of countrymen had met for the trophy at the Real Club de Tenis.
Ferrer was disappointed but realistic about the epic contest. “Rafa is Rafa and he is very good. I’ve lost four times to him in this final, but I’ve always lost to one of the greats. He is a very good player and even better as a person,” he said.
Nadal wins 7th Barcelona title
Rafael Nadal confirmed his status as king of clay on Sunday when the Spanish powerhouse won his seventh Barcelona Open title with a high-quality 7-6 (7/1), 7-5 defeat of David Ferrer. World number two Nadal went from one history-making weekend to another after claiming an unprecedented eighth straight title a week ago in Monte Carlo where he beat world number one Novak Djokovic. Seven days later, he took nearly three hours to add to his records in Barcelona as he held off compatriot Ferrer. Nadal and his friend were playing their fourth final at the Real Club de Tenis, with Nadal winning all of them dating back to 2008. He now stands as the only man to win two different events at least seven times each. “This was my hardest match since the start of the clay season,” said the winner. “David always takes you to the limit. “I was lucky when I saved break points. The odds were on my side. In the second set David played very close, but I had the luck at the end. I’m so happy and I feel sorry for him. I’m starting to feel my game well on the clay.” Nadal’s victory was his 34th in a row at Barcelona and improved his finals record on clay to 34-4. His only clay finals losses have come against Djokovic and Roger Federer, each beating him twice. The Barcelona triumph in front of 8,000 fans came exactly 10 years to the day that a 15-year-old Nadal made his debut on the ATP Tour in his native Mallorca. Sunday’s final was the 10th between Spaniards at the tournament in the Open era, the sixth featuring Nadal and the fourth in five years between Nadal and Ferrer. Spaniards have won the home title for the past 10 years since 2003. “Rafa is Rafa and he is very good,” Ferrer said in defeat. “I’ve lost four times to him in this final. but I’ve always lost to one of the greats. He is a very good player and even better as a person.” The marathon final looked never-ending after a first set lasting 93 minutes with Nadal saving five set points in the 12th game before the tiebreaker which he dominated. Ferrer, 30, refused to roll over, with the third seed coming from 1-3 down as he broke Nadal in the fifth game and then did it again for 5-4 as Nadal produced a double-fault. But Nadal was not done, with the top seed breaking back for 5-5, producing a love game for 6-5 and breaking again to end the dramatic contest a game later on the first of three match points. Nadal now stands 14-4 over Ferrer after winning the 48th trophy of his career.