Nadal claims eighth Barcelona title

Rafael Nadal recovered from a slow start
to beat compatriot Nicolas Almagro and
win his eighth Barcelona Open title in
nine years on Sunday.
The Spanish left-hander has not lost at
the venue since 2003 and a 6-4 6-3
victory was his 39th consecutive triumph
in the tournament.
Nadal struggled while there was light rain
early on and he found himself 3-0 down
after conceding two breaks.
But the second seed eventually
triumphed in an hour and 33 minutes.
Nadal would have been fearful of a second
consecutive final defeat on clay early on,
having lost to Novak Djokovic in Monte
Carlo.
However the world number five soon
found his rhythm, recovering to lead 4-3
before closing out the set with his first
set point on the Almagro serve.
The outcome of the match was never in
doubt after that, with Nadal producing
two breaks of the Almagro serve in the
second set to clinch victory.