Rafael Nadal became the first player in the Open Era to win two tournaments seven times after beating David Ferrer 7-6 (1), 7-5 in today's Barcelona Open final.
"This is the hardest match I had on clay court this season, David always takes you to the limit,'' Nadal told Spanish state TV. "A bit of it was lottery, luck fell on my side today.''
Nadal saved seven of eight break points in the first set, including five which were set points for Ferrer in the 12th game. He fired an ace to save the last before holding for the tiebreaker, and Ferrer's doublefault allowed Nadal to get ahead 4-1 as he took the first set in a grueling 93 minutes.
Ferrer saved a triple-break point but then handed Nadal a 3-1 second set lead when his forehand sailed long.
Nadal showed a dip in concentration on his next service game as he was forced to save a triple-break chance before netting on the fourth opportunity to let his opponent back in.
Ferrer converted another break point when Nadal double-faulted to lead 5-4, but then hit wide on serve to be broken after Nadal's incredible scramble had set up the break chance.
