Rafael Nadal reigns in Spain as he wins a 10th Barcelona Open title
Rafael Nadal reached double figures for the second week in succession with a 10th title at the Barcelona Open.
Nadal became the first man in the Open era to win the same Rafael Nadal event 10 times when he reached the milestone at the Monte Carlo Masters the previous weekend.
He comfortably repeated the feat on Sunday in Barcelona on the court that bears his name for the 71st title of his illustrious career, winning 6-4, 6-1 against over Dominic Thiem, who beat Andy Murray in the semi-finals.
The Majorcan took a while to impose himself on Thiem on an overcast day, with the cold weather slowing down the court.
The Austrian earned the first break point of the match but Nadal recovered to take the first set by breaking his opponent in the 10th game.
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There was no let-up in the second set from Nadal, who broke the 23-year-old twice in a row before serving to wrap up his 51st tournament win on clay.
“To win in Barcelona and Monte Carlo gives me a dream start to the clay season,” said the Spaniard, who will go for a 10th title at the French Open next month.
“I’m especially happy for these 10 victories in two tournaments that are as special to me as Monte Carlo and Barcelona, especially here as it’s my club, and for the support of these incredible fans.
“It’s a dream start to the clay-court season.”
Thiem paid tribute to his opponent, saying: “First of all, congrats to Rafa, 10 titles here and in Monte Carlo, it’s unbelievable.
“I really enjoyed the week in Barcelona. There are worse things than to lose against the greatest player on clay ever.”
Aljaz Bedene’s 16-match winning streak was ended by Lucas Pouille in the final of the Hungarian Open.
The British No 4 had been unbeaten for more than a month, but went down 6-3 6-1 to the Frenchman in just over an hour.
Pouille, who is at a career-high 14 in the world, ruined Bedene’s serve, with the man ranked 68th winning just 25 per cent of points on his second delivery.
In Stuttgart, Laura Siegemund lifted the biggest title of her career at the Porsche Grand Prix, beating Maria Sharapova’s semi-final conqueror Kristina Mladenovic 6-1, 2-6, 7-6.