Rafael Nadal had not won two titles in two weeks in the past two years. If anyone still had doubts about whether he would be able to sustain his brilliance after a record-extending ninth crown at the Monte Carlo Masters last week, then the World No. 5 was quick to banish all those apprehensions at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
On Sunday, the Spaniard reclaimed a title that he had won eight times previously with a 6-4, 7-5 victory over the two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori.
49th clay title equals Vilas' record
And with that, the King of Clay also equalled a record that he had been chasing for a long time. His 49th clay title made him equal Argentine legend Guillermo Vilas’ Open Era record of triumphs on the red dirt.
Nadal did look good all week and cruised to the final without having dropped a single set. But the World No. 6 and second seed Nishikori was a different challenge altogether. He had made the Catalan capital his home for the last two years with his admirable domination at this venue that saw him win his 14th consecutive match this Saturday.
The Japanese too was equally impressive this week and did not concede a single set.
In a battle of two heavyweights, the first set was tightly-contested but it was the home favourite Nadal who showed his superior mental fortitude on the break points. Nishikori earned tons of them, the first couple of which came when Rafa was serving at 1-1.
But, by using his trademark forehand, he managed to shut out Nishikori’s chances. And then he immediately broke for a 3-1 lead.
However, the second seed was successful in levelling the set soon afterwards and he started moving Rafa all over the court with some fierce forehands that hit the corners.
It went on like that and at 5-4, Nishikori finally crumbled under pressure, giving up the first set 4-6 to the eight-time champion.
The start of the second set witnessed an exchange of breaks. It was Nadal who made in-roads into Nishikori’s game after that with some deep forehands and exceptional defense. The match looked almost over for Nishikori with Rafa nudging ahead for a 4-1 lead after managing to hold in a marathon service game.
But a misjudgment from the former World No. 1 on a Nishikori lob opened the door slightly for the defending champion who was galvanized to break back for 3-4.
Nadal kept applying pressure and was even rewarded with four break points but he squandered all of them and then the set was once more tied at 4-4.
A gutsy Nishikori then saved a match point to stretch the set to 5-5. Serving at 5-6, the Japanese failed to control a high ball that gifted Nadal two more match points. As his forehand found the net, Nadal sealed his second title of the year and his career’s 69th crown in 2 hours 4 minutes.
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