Seventh Nadal Barcelona Title

Rafael Nadal produced another stunning display on clay to beat David Ferrer and win a seventh Barcelona Open title.

A week on from securing his eighth Monte Carlo Masters, Nadal overcame third seed Ferrer 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 in two hours 40 minutes of gruelling tennis.

The top seed saved five set points to take the opener before battling past his fellow Spaniard in a taxing second.

World number two Nadal becomes the first man in the Open era to capture two ATP events at least seven times.

"This is the hardest match I had on clay court this season, David always takes you to the limit," Nadal told Spanish TV. "A bit of it was lottery, luck fell on my side today."

The victory was the perfect way to mark the 10th anniversary of his first match on the main tour.

On 29 April 2002 Nadal beat Ramon Delgado 6-4 6-4 in Mallorca, and exactly a decade later he collected the 49th title of his career.

Nadal, 25, overturned an early break of serve before saving a break point in game six and bringing up one of his own in game 11.

But Ferrer was equal to the task and not only held firm but earned himself a glorious opportunity at 6-5.

He had five opportunities to take the opening set but Nadal showed incredible defensive skills in forcing a tie-break.

After mini-breaks were exchanged, Ferrer sent down a double-fault to hand over the momentum and he was duly punished.

Nadal was now regularly hitting the lines and when he broke to move 3-1 ahead in the second set, the finishing line was in sight.

However, Ferrer hit straight back and the crowd were in raptures as a Nadal double-fault meant Ferrer would serve for the set at 5-4.

But his game capitulated at the worst possible moment and a forehand sailed wide to squander the chance.

Nadal held for 6-5 and then broke to love for a fine victory that improves his head-to-head against Ferrer to 14-4.

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Nadal Meets Ferrer in Barcelona

Six-time champion Rafael Nadal defeated Fernando Verdasco 6-0, 6-4 Saturday to ease into the Barcelona Open final, where he will face fellow Spaniard David Ferrer for a fourth time.

Nadal dominated from the start, winning 21 of 27 points to break Verdasco's first three service games and set him on his way to his 33rd straight win at the competition.

In the other semifinal, Ferrer held off Milos Raonic's powerful serve for a 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5) victory to give him a shot at his fourth title of the year.

"Rafa is the best player, clay-court player ever," Ferrer said. "He has beaten me three times in the finals here. I hope tomorrow is different."

Verdasco, who won here in 2010 when Nadal sat out the tournament he has otherwise dominated since 2005, barely offered resistance as the second-ranked player hit winner after winner.

Nadal ran off seven straight points to open the match, breaking Verdasco's first service game with an intimidating smash.

"I began the first set very strong, and getting the first break gave me a lot of confidence," Nadal said. "He also made some errors early on, which helped me."

Nadal improved to 13-0 all time against Verdasco and predicted a close final.

"David is always tough. He is a rival you never want to face," Nadal said. "I wish him the best. Well... not for tomorrow, but for the rest of the season."

Raonic hit 15 aces against Ferrer, displaying the same massive serve that led to his upset of Andy Murray in the quarterfinals.

But the third-seeded Ferrer worked his Canadian opponent around the red-clay court with well-placed ground strokes and proved the better finisher in the two tiebreakers.

"It was very difficult to beat him," Ferrer said. "We both had our chances. It was a question of winning or losing the key points."

Behind 3-1 in the second-set tiebreaker, the sixth-ranked Ferrer fought back and claimed the match with a superb return that clipped the sideline.

"I'm very happy to make my fourth final," Ferrer said. "I have a special relationship with this tournament. I hope I can fulfil my dream of finally winning here."

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