Tennis: Nadal continues clay domination in Barcelona

RAFAEL Nadal held off a stirring fightback from David Ferrer yesterday to beat his fellow Spaniard 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 and become the first man to win four consecutive Barcelona Open titles.

The top seed romped through the first set but Ferrer hit back superbly and Nadal had to dig deep to clinch his 25th career title, making it back-to-back tournament wins after his triumph in the Monte Carlo Masters.

"The first set I played very well, almost perfect, but he was very strong in the second set and I am just very happy to have won here again," said Nadal.

Fernando Gonzalez, meanwhile, captured his tenth career title and second of the year at the clay court BMW Open by beating Simone Bolelli of Italy 7-6 (4), 6-7 (4), 6-3. Gonzalez wasted two match points at 5-4 in the second set. He went on to win after the first break of serve in the match at 2-2 in the final set.