Laurence DollimoreRAFAEL Nadal performed his traditional jump in the pool with the ballkids after winning the Barcelona open for the ninth time.
The Spaniard beat defending Japanese champion Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-5, and is now equal with Guillermo Vilas’s record of 49 career clay-court titles.
“I’m very happy because, besides this being one of the most important tournaments that I have won, this is another week that I am playing very well,” Nadal said. “These have been two fantastic weeks, weeks I have been striving for for a long time.”
The 29-year-old added Barcelona to his list of tournaments that he has won a record nine times, along with Roland Garros and Monte Carlo. No other player has won a tournament nine times.
He has now won his last ten matches and will look to maintain the momentum going into Madrid next week.
