Spain’s top seed Rafael Nadal defeated compatriot David Ferrer in straight sets 7-6 (7-1), 7-5 to win his seventh Barcelona Open title.
After securing his eight Monte Carlo Masters, Nadal dominated Ferrer in two hours and forty minutes.
World number two Nadal becomes the first man in the Open era to capture two ATP events at least seven times.
It was a decade ago when he captured his first title on the main tour when he defeated Ramon Delgado 6-4 6-4 in Mallorca.
It was Nadal’s 48th title of his career since then.
The third seed Ferrer had five opportunities to take the opening set but Nadal showed incredible defensive skills in forcing a tie-break.
The top seed saved five set points to take the opener before battling past his fellow Spaniard in a taxing second.
“This is the hardest match I had on clay court this season, David always takes you to the limit,” Nadal revealed as he was interviewed by a Spanish TV.
A grueling match ensued in the second set where Nadal held for 6-5 and then broke to love for a fine victory that improves his head-to-head standings against Ferrer to 14 – 4 in favor of Nadal.
