Rafael Nadal held off a stirring fightback from David Ferrer to beat his fellow Spaniard 6-1, 4-6, 6-1 on Sunday and become the first man to win the Barcelona Open in four consecutive years.
Nadal, Ferrer in Barcelona final
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.
Nadal tore through the defences of Ferrer in the first set but the second seed went on the attack himself in the second set and deservedly pulled level.
Nadal looked concerned as he came out for the deciding set but after breaking Ferrer in the second game, he eased to victory in two hours, 14 minutes.
