More records are raining for Rafael Nadal, who has already started showing his prowess on the clay this season. The King of Clay completed the second part of his ‘Triple Decima’ quest as he outplayed the fourth seed Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell in the Catalan capital on Sunday.
With this win, Rafa is now on a 10-match winning streak having won a record 10th title at the Monte Carlo Masters last week.
This is the former World No. 1’s 51st title on clay and his 71st career crown overall. It also makes him the only player to win two singles titles ten times each.
Thiem had upset Murray in semis
Dominic Thiem had been on a hot streak in this tourament having upset the World No. 1 Andy Murray in a tight three-set match in the semi-finals. But after the first set, he had nothing left in the tank to take the fight to Rafa.
The defending champion had his first opportunities in the high-intensity first set with Thiem serving at 2-3. But the Austrian made his high-bouncing forehands do the talking. Repeatedly pulling Rafa out of the court with his wide serves, he saved a couple of break points for a massive 3-3 hold.
There was not much to separate the two after this with both competing at their highest level. It was only in the tenth game where the Spaniard banked on his indefatigable defense and brilliant footwork to put his younger opponent under immense pressure. As the World No. 9’s backhand down-the-line missed the sideline by a whisker, Nadal was presented with a set point which he soon converted with Thiem sending his backhand into the net.
Having lost the opener after such a gritty fight, the setback was writ large on the fourth seed’s face. The 23-year-old never looked at ease while the 14-time Grand Slam champion, in contrast, grew in confidence with every shot.
The only time when Thiem came up with some brutal hitting to counter Rafa was in the second game. A sensational backhand pass from the Austrian denied the Spaniard a chance to break as the fourth seed held on for 1-2.
Rafa’s persistence finally paid off in the fourth game. With a blistering inside-out forehand, he broke for a 3-1 lead and immediately consolidated it for a 4-1 advantage.
Thiem’s game just fell apart since then thanks to that deadly Nadal blow and he cut a sorry figure for the rest of the set.
The nine-time champion broke again to race ahead to 5-1 following which he comfortably served out the win.
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