Rafael Nadal hailed a âdream startâ to his clay court season after romping to his 10th Barcelona Open on Sunday after sweeping aside Austriaâs Dominic Thiem 6-4, 6-1.
The Spaniard also claimed his 10th title at the Monte Carlo Masters last week as he gears up for to go for his 10th French Open title next month.
âIt is two consecutive weeks winning, in Monte Carlo and here, two special tournaments for me, it is a dream start on clay,â said Nadal. âIt means a lot for me to reach number 10 here in Barcelona, in front of the people of my club, I am very happy and emotional.â
Nadal won in Barcelona between 2005-2009, 2011-13 and now in the last two years. The 14-time Grand Slam champion also looks like the man to beat at Roland Garros after winning on a Barcelona court named after him and where he didnât drop a set all week.
Thiem had shocked world number one Andy Murray in Saturdayâs semi-finals and showed some early resistance. The world number nine even had his only break point of the match in the first game.
But Nadal, returning to top form at age 30, upped his intensity at the crucial moment and took the set with the only break in the 10th game.
âThe first set was vitally important,â added Nadal. âIt was hard. I was having a few more chances than him but it was very even and that is why I celebrated with so much energy at the end.â
The second set was a procession as Thiemâs frustration at his inability to break through Nadalâs defences saw him consistently fire long. The Austrian held off three break points in his opening service game, but was powerless to stop Nadal thereafter as he won the last five games to seal victory in just over 90 minutes on court.
However, Thiem wasnât too disheartened after losing out to the king of clay after what had been a productive week.
âI really enjoyed the week in Barcelona,â he said. âThere are worse things than to lose against the greatest player on clay ever.â
The 23-year-old is now 9-20 against top-10 opposition and is yet to claim back-to-back top-10 victories.
Just like all the other nine times Nadal had triumphed in Barcelona, he leapt into the pool of the tennis club along with the ball kids to celebrate a stunning 10th success in Catalunya.
* From AFP