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MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more tennis news see: Rafael Nadal ousted from Gerry Weber Open .

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more tennis news see: Nadal beats Ferrer for 7th Barcelona Open win .

BARCELONA (ATP/Newsfeed) – 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 Sunday’s Barcelona Open final.

The second-ranked Nadal’s 21st straight victory on clay followed up his eighth straight win in Monte Carlo, as Nadal won the 10th all-Spanish ATP final for a 48th career win.

The sixth-ranked Ferrer lost his fourth Barcelona Open final to Nadal, who saved 12 of 15 break points for a 34th straight victory at Barcelona.

Nadal skipped toward the net in celebration after hitting a backhand winner on match point. The six-time French Open champion displayed his normal resilience and steady play to overcome Ferrer in a match marked by grinding rallies and spectacular shotmaking more reminiscent of a major 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.”

With a warm sun bearing down, the players exchanged early breaks before settling into a slugfest of powerful groundstrokes with long rallies often won by magnificently struck winners to the line.

Neither player let a shot go unchallenged with the rhythm only disrupted in the fourth game when both players stopped as medical staff helped a spectator in the stands.

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 double fault 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.

After serving to love to lead 6-5, Nadal’s superb crosscourt forehand winner put him ahead as he broke Ferrer for the fourth time to pick up the $ 400,000 winner’s check in 2 hours, 41 minutes.

“Like always, Rafa,” said Ferrer, who has three wins already this season. “I’ve lost four times but four times against a great.”

Only Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have beaten Nadal in a clay court final.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more tennis news see: Nadal tops Ferrer for 7th Barcelona title.

BARCELONA, Spain

Six-time champion Rafael Nadal defeated Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-4 Saturday to ease into the Barcelona Open final, where he will face fellow Spaniard David Ferrer for a fourth time.

Nadal dominated from the start, winning 21 of 27 points to break Verdasco’s first three service games and set him on his way to his 33rd straight win at the competition.

In the other semifinal, Ferrer held off Milos Raonic’s powerful serve for a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) victory to give him a shot at his fourth title of the year.

“Rafa is the best player, clay-court player ever,” Ferrer said. “He has beaten me three times in the finals here. I hope tomorrow is different.”

Verdasco, who won here in 2010 when Nadal sat out the tournament he has otherwise dominated since 2005, barely offered resistance as the second-ranked player hit winner after winner.

Nadal ran off seven straight points to open the match, breaking Verdasco’s first service game with an intimidating smash.

“I began the first set very strong, and getting the first break gave me a lot of confidence,” Nadal said. “He also made some errors early on, which helped me.”

Nadal improved to 13-0 all time against Verdasco and predicted a close final.

“David is always tough. He is a rival you never want to face,” Nadal said. “I wish him the best. Well… not for tomorrow, but for the rest of the season.”

Raonic hit 15 aces against Ferrer, displaying the same massive serve that led to his upset of Andy Murray in the quarterfinals.

But the third-seeded Ferrer worked his Canadian opponent around the red-clay court with well-placed ground strokes and proved the better finisher in the two tiebreakers.

“It was very difficult to beat him,” Ferrer said. “We both had our chances. It was a question of winning or losing the key points.”

Behind 3-1 in the second-set tiebreaker, the sixth-ranked Ferrer fought back and claimed the match with a superb return that clipped the sideline.

“I’m very happy to make my fourth final,” Ferrer said. “I have a special relationship with this tournament. I hope I can fulfill my dream of finally winning here.”

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more tennis news see: Nadal, Ferrer meet again in Barcelona.

The top-seeded Nadal moved his Serbian opponent around the red-clay court with his powerful forehand.

The second-ranked Spaniard broke Tipsarevic in his first service game to set the tone for his 32nd consecutive win at the tournament. Tipsarevic earned three break points in the last game of the first set, but Nadal recovered to win five straight points.

Nadal was broken for the first time to make it 2-2 in the second set, giving the fifth-seeded Tipsarevic a glimmer of hope. But Nadal won the next four games, capping a dominating performance with two straight aces to close out the match in 1 hour, 23 minutes.

“In the first set I was playing really well, and then at the start of the second he attacked more while I left my shots short,” Nadal said. “But I am satisfied with the match. I am in the semifinals again. Tomorrow I will have to play at my highest level.”

Nadal, a six-time champion at the tournament, will face fellow Spaniard Fernando Verdasco after Kei Nishikori of Japan was forced to retire with an injury when trailing 4-2 in the first set.

Raonic, who trains at the Real Club de Tenis, used his strong forehand to beat Murray.

The 11th-seeded Canadian broke the fourth-ranked Murray to lead 4-3 and then set up a set point with an ace before smacking a forehand down the line to take the first set.

Murray managed only four points on Raonic’s serve in the first set and continued to struggle on the return in the second. But Murray broke Raonic when the Canadian served for the match before losing in the tiebreaker.

“It’s very, very difficult and a big plus in confidence for me,” Raonic said. “Clay’s not his best surface, but he consistently does well on it. Last year he reached the semifinals at the French Open, Monte Carlo and Rome, so he can play really well on it. For me, it was a big win, regardless of the surface.”

Raonic is one win away from his fourth final of the season. He will next face David Ferrer, who saved three match points while rallying to beat Feliciano Lopez 6-7 (4), 7-6 (7), 6-3.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more tennis news see: Nadal, Raonic advance in Barcelona.

BARCELONA, Spain

Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray cruised into the Barcelona Open quarterfinals with straight-set victories on Thursday.

Nadal broke Robert Farah of Colombia in the first game on his way to a 6-2, 6-3 victory for his 31st straight win at the tournament. Nadal set up a quarterfinal match with fifth-seeded Janko Tipsarevic after the Serbian beat Frederico Gil 6-2, 6-2.

“It may sound stupid but against players like him you have to go for victory, if you look for a fight you’ve already lost,” Tipsarevic said. “Rafa is playing like he always does on clay, the best, but I’ll go out there looking to win and see what happens.”

Nadal beat Tipsarevic 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 in their previous meeting, which came in the Davis Cup three years ago.

Murray made quick work of another Colombian in a 6-1, 6-2 win over Santiago Giraldo, the fourth-ranked Briton serving up nine aces in a quick victory.

Murray will play Milos Raonic next after the 11th-seeded Canadian got past Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-3.

Also, Japan’s Kei Nishikori beat Spain’s Albert Ramos 7-6 (2), 6-3 and Feliciano Lopez also reached the last eight with a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Jarkko Nieminen.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more tennis news see: Nadal, Murray reach Barcelona quarters.

BARCELONA, Spain

Rafael Nadal overcame a sore knee to open his bid for a seventh Barcelona Open title with an easy 6-1, 6-2 win over Guillermo Garcia Lopez in the second round Wednesday.

Nadal had a bye in the first round after defeating Novak Djokovic in the Monte Carlo Masters final on Sunday and improved to 31-1 on the clay in Barcelona after breaking his fellow Spaniard six times.

“My knee bothered me a little, but that’s normal. In 15 days, the discomfort isn’t going to go away, but it doesn’t keep you from playing so it’s not a problem,” said Nadal, who had to withdraw before the semifinals of last month’s Sony Ericsson Open because of a left knee problem. “I made few errors, my backhand was good and my forehand allowed me to vary my game and it helped me a lot.”

Fellow Spaniard David Ferrer needed less than an hour to advance to the third round by beating Serbian wild card Filip Krajinovic 6-0, 6-3. The sixth-ranked Ferrer is bidding for his first Godo trophy after finishing as the runner up three times.

“Rafa is, without a doubt, the favorite because he is the best player of all time on clay, but he can also lose,” Ferrer said. “Every player has to focus on the rival in front of him now rather than further ahead.”

Ferrer plays Albert Montanes in the next round after the Spaniard saved four match points to oust 15th-seeded Bernard Tomic 6-0, 5-7, 7-5.

Canada’s Milos Raonic beat Russia’s Igor Andreev 6-4, 6-1, while Japan’s Kei Nishikori overcame Mikhail Kukushkin 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.

Seventh-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain also reached the third round with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Italy’s Flavio Cipolla and will face Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, who won 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4 over Eduardo Schwank of Argentina.

Kevin Anderson of South Africa, Albert Ramos of Spain and Santiago Giraldo of Colombia also advanced.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more tennis news see: Nadal cruises into Barcelona third round.

MONACO

If the match itself was anticlimactic, the achievement was not. By defeating Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-1, Rafael Nadal won the Rolex Monte Carlo Open for the eighth straight year while also breaking the stranglehold the Serb had enjoyed against him, winning the last seven finals they had played.

“First of all you need luck,” Nadal said afterward. True. You also need to be an extraordinary athlete and an amazing competitor. This is one of the nine ATP Masters Series 1000 tournaments, a level just below the Grand Slams. Winning it once is an achievement but this run of success at any event is unprecedented in the Open era. Ilie Nastase, who was here this week, won three straight titles between 1971-73 but otherwise one needs to go way back in the history books, to the very beginning of this tournament which was dominated for its first 10 years by British brothers Reg and Lawrie Doherty, who kept it in the family between 1897 and 1906.

But this modern age requires a completely different level of expertise and athleticism and it is unlikely that anyone in the future will be able to emulate Nadal’s feat although the man himself could extend it. Who would bet against him winning here again next year?

Obviously Nadal was thrilled at his success but there was an elephant out there on court and it involved Djokovic’s state of mind. On Thursday his grandfather Vladimir Djokovic, who had been his mentor and inspiration, had died. On Saturday he was buried in Serbia. After much thought, Novak had decided to play on, missing the funeral. Reaching the final took great mental strength but he ran out of it Sunday.

“I definitely don’t want to take anything away from Rafa’s win,” said the world No. 1. “He deserved to win today. He was the better player. But it’s a fact that I didn’t have any emotional energy left in me. It was a bad day. If I wanted to have any chance of winning against Rafa on clay, I needed that extra gear which I didn’t have. I’ve never been caught up in this kind of emotional situation before. I won three matches since the news that I got. I think I did pretty well. Obviously today I faced a better player. That’s all I can say.”

Nadal was not about to get into his opponent’s emotional state. Asked if he felt Djokovic was at his best, he replied, “No, Djokovic wasn’t the real best Djokovic. But my real best is when I play well and when I play bad. The real Rafa is not only when I play my best. If I take that for myself, the same for the others. Djokovic had amazing year and a half, always perfect, no mistakes. Today he had more mistakes than usual. I won 6-3, 6-1 which is for sure not normal to win against the best player of the world. But it happened. Very happy for my victory. Sorry for him.”

It is clear that Nadal’s mind is already on the future, not just at Barcelona where he plays next week (and Djokovic doesn’t) but the Masters 1000 tournaments in Rome and Madrid where the Serb beat him last year and then the French Open where he will expect Djokovic, who lost to Roger Federer in the semifinals there a year ago, to meet him in the final this time.

“It’s a very mental game,” Djokovic had observed a few minutes before. He was referring to his current state of mind but Nadal, the ultimate competitor, is already thinking ahead and does not want to give an inch.

Technically, Nadal will take some pointers with him into future battles. “Yesterday I said in press conference that I have to return a little bit more aggressive, I have to return a little bit longer (deeper). I did. I did very good backhand returns. And against his forehand , try not to open up the court a lot. When you open the court to a lot of players you are in a good position. But against him not, because he’s able to open you more with the next shot. So I try to hit more to the middle. After that I felt I can change directions.”

It was windy again and Nadal mastered the conditions better than an opponent who was not in the right state of mind to buckle down and be patient. It will be different next time. For now Nadal has simply laid down a marker. He rules here and even Prince Albert is not about to argue.

MySportNews іѕ a sports news digest publication that compiles real time, on demand sports news, articles, аnd resources. This article was distributed by Syndicated Sports news wire and aggregation service, For more tennis news see: Nadal wins 8th straight Monte Carlo title.