Nadal gets past Ferrer for seventh Barcelona Open crown
BARCELONA, Spain — 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.”
Only Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have beaten Nadal in a clay court final.
Sharapova defeats Azarenka in Porsche championship match
STUTTGART, Germany — Second-ranked Maria Sharapova cruised past top-ranked Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-4 on Sunday to win the Porsche Grand Prix for her first title of the year.
Sharapova lost to Azarenka in the Australian Open and Indian Wells finals this year, and the Russian had never beaten her rival from Belarus in four previous encounters in a final.
“I am really pleased to win such a tough tournament, against such tough opponents,” said Sharapova, before collecting the white sports car donated by the tournament sponsor. “Victoria could not perform at her best because of her injury.”
Azarenka, who fell to 29-2 this year but will keep the No. 1 spot, had her playing, right wrist taped after the first set. She was seeking her fifth title of the year.
“I am disappointed to lose, but still I had a good week,” Azarenka said.
Sharapova, a former No. 1, won her 25th career title, an honor roll that also includes three Grand Slam titles.
Sharapova made her debut this year in Stuttgart, a tournament played on indoor clay that brought together the eight top-ranked players. Sunday was her fourth clay court title.
The Russian needed 30 minutes to roll through the first set, ending it by firing an ace with her second serve.
She broke serve for a 4-3 lead and closed out the match with a service winner. Sharapova is 22-4 for the year.
“I came here mainly to warm up for the French Open, so it’s been a good week,” she said.
Simon beats Fognini to win Nastase Tiriac Trophy
BUCHAREST, Romania — Top-seeded Gilles Simon beat Fabio Fognini of Italy 6-4, 6-3 to win the Nastase Tiriac Trophy on Sunday.
The Frenchman took the event for the third time, after winning the tournament in 2007 and 2008.
Fognini, playing in his first ATP World Tour final, made a determined start and broke early for a 2-0 lead before Simon recovered to make it 2-2.
Simon broke again to lead 3-2, but immediately lost his serve in a game where both players made several forays to the net.
At 3-3, Simon broke for the third time and held on to take the set, despite an apparent eye injury.
The second set was dominated by several long rallies, but Simon seemed more in control and at 2-2 broke to take the lead. Leading 5-3, Simon trailed 40-0 on Fognini’s serve before rallying to win the match.
Bertens wins first WTA title in Grand Prix SAR final
FEZ, Morocco — Dutch qualifier Kiki Bertens won her first WTA title when she beat Spaniard Laura Pous-Tio 7-5, 6-0 in the Grand Prix SAR final on Saturday.
Both played in their first tour final.
“In the beginning I was very nervous and she started well, but after I won the first set all my nerves were gone,” Bertens said. “I’m excited. I’m going to play more tournaments now and try to win more.”
The 20-year-old Bertens dropped serve twice, but used her superior returns to break Pous-Tio three times in each set.
Bertens raced away with the second set, conceding only two points on her serve, while Pous-Tio managed to win only 41 percent of her first-serve points.
“It is only my second tournament on clay, so I’m still happy with the result,” Pous-Tio said. “She started attacking more and everything started going faster. She played a very good match today.”
The 149th-ranked Bertens came through two qualifying rounds to make the main draw, and she had previously never got beyond the first round at a WTA event.
“I love it here. I was here for one week because I played the qualies too, so I’m a little bit tired now,” Bertens said. “But I’m going to celebrate tonight.”
From wire sources
