Rafael Nadal Beats David Ferrer For 7th Barcelona Open Title

Rafael Nadal made history today afterbeating David Ferrer 7-6, 7-5 during the Barcelona Open Final. It is the 7th time that Nadal has one the Barcelona Open and marks the first time in the Open Era that a player has won two tournaments seven times.

Nadal, who won his 8th Monte Carlo last week, said:

“This is the hardest match I had on clay court this season, David always takes you to the limit. A bit of it was lottery, luck fell on my side today… I think that David more than deserved to win this title and I really wish him the best for the rest of his career.”

The BBC notes that Nadal’s victory today, which was his 21st consecutive victory on clay and earned him his 48th title of his career, came exactly 10 years after his first match on the main tour. On April 29th, 2002, Nadal beat Ramon Delgado 6-4 6-4 in Mallorca.

The Times of India reports that Ferrer has fallen to Nadal in all but four of their 18 meetings. Ferrer said:

“Rafa is Rafa and he is very good. I have lost four times to him here in the final now but I know I have lost to one of the greats. He is a very good player and as a person even better.”

Here’s a video of Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer from the Barcelona Open.