Clay master Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for the sixth time in seven years with a straight-sets win over David Ferrer.
Ferrer brushed aside for 31st career claycourt crown
World number one Rafael Nadal overwhelmed fellow Spaniard David Ferrer 6-2 6-4 to triumph at the Barcelona Open for the sixth time in seven years.
Nadal produced a near flawless display of power hitting and impeccable defence to claim his second title in as many weeks, having started his claycourt season with victory over Ferrer in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters last Sunday.
His run in Barcelona, where he also beat Ferrer in the 2008 and 2009 finals, was interrupted by injury last year, while his triumph in Monaco was his seventh straight at that event.
Nadal, who lost just 15 games en route to the final, needed one hour 49 minutes to quell the challenge of his fourth-seeded compatriot.
Ruthless
He broke three times in the opening set as he went to work on Ferrer's fragile second serve, winning seven of the eight points on it.
Ferrer battled back from slipping 2-0 down in the second set to take the next four games and open up a 4-2 lead.
But Nadal broke straight back and then levelled before his sixth break of the match set up victory.
"It's incredible to come back here to my tournament and my fans after not being able to play last year," Nadal said in an interview with Spanish television before hoisting aloft the huge Conde de Godo trophy.
"I am very, very happy for the win and sorry for David, who is having a fantastic year and deserves a title," he added.
"It's bad luck for him having to play me in three finals but it's my sixth title here and it's a huge delight."
The 24-year-old Mallorcan now has 31 claycourt titles, putting him one clear of Bjorn Borg and Manuel Orantes on the all-time list and third behind Guillermo Vilas (45) and Thomas Muster (40).
He is also the first player in the Open era to win two tournaments at least six times.
