Rafael Nadal wins the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell defeating Nicolás Almagro (6-4, 6-3) in an all-Spanish final

Barcelona (CNA).- Rafael Nadal has won the ATP World Series 500 tournament Open Banc Sabadell this week in Barcelona. It’s the eighth time that Nadal has won the Conde de Godó Trophy after defeating his fellow Spaniard Nicolás Almagro by 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 32 minutes. The eleventh all-Spanish final of this tournament was almost suspended because of the rain which fell at the beginning of the match. “I feel very happy to lift the trophy once again here in Barcelona. It means a lot especially after the difficult year I’ve had”, said Nadal. “The conditions were very difficult today, especially in the first six games as it was raining a lot”.

At the Central Court of the Reial Club de Tennis Barcelona, the match started very well for Nicolás Almagro, who won the first three games breaking Nadal’s service twice. When the spectators opened their umbrellas and the clay started to get wet, Nadal recovered by breaking Almagro’s service in the fourth game. “With the rain, the ball got heavier and it wasn’t the same for me anymore. The rallies slowed down and he was able to stay more in the points”, said Almagro. From that point on Nadal got back into the first set and finally won 6-4, after playing seven games in the rain. Things were easier for the Mallorcan in the second set, when the rain had stopped. Nadal didn’t lose his service in the whole set and Almagro became tired both mentally and physically, as he couldn’t keep up the pace of the first set. Nadal won the second set 6-3 to lift his eighth Conde de Godó Trophy in Barcelona, a special place to win for him because he still trains at the Reial Club de Tennis Barcelona.

Rainy week at the Open Banc Sabadell

The rain had constantly threatened the courts of the Reial Club de Tennis Barcelona over the last few days and altered the competition, especially on Friday. All the games were suspended, making it necessary to play third round games and quarterfinals on Saturday for some players. One of them was the champion Rafael Nadal, who beat Frenchman Benoit Paire and local player Albert Ramos on the same day. The doubles draw was also affected due to the bad weather in Barcelona. The final was supposed to be played on the Central Court after the singles final, but it finally took place on Court 1 while Nadal and Almagro were playing.

The couple formed by Austrian Alexander Peya and Brazilian Bruno Soares won the doubles tournament defeating Swedish Robert Lindstedt and Canadian Daniel Nestor in a tough match that ended 5-7, 7-6, 10-4. Peya and Soares, ranked 5th and 9th in the ATP Doubles Rankings beat the Catalan pair formed by Marc López and Marcel Granollers, ranked second by the ATP and favourites after the Bryan brothers withdrew last Monday.

A special tournament for Catalan and Spanish players

Traditionally, the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell is important for many Catalan and Spanish players. Besides Rafael Nadal and Nicolás Almagro, two Catalan players reached the quarterfinals. Tommy Robredo was defeated by the rising Canadian star Milos Raonic after losing the third set in the tiebreak. On the other hand, Albert Ramos played against Rafael Nadal and lost in a conclusive 3-6, 0-6. Another Catalan player, Marcel Granollers was eliminated by Nicolás Almagro. In the doubles tournament Granollers reached the semifinals with Marc López, along with the Spanish pairing of David Marrero and Fernando Verdasco.

The two big surprises of the tournament for Spanish fans were the early eliminations of the ATP number 4, David Ferrer, and Fernando Verdasco. Both lost in the second round, Ferrer in three sets and Verdasco in two. The rest of the Catalan and Spanish players were eliminated in the first or the second round, when Barcelona was still sunny.

International crowd at the Conde de Godó Trohpy

A consolidated event among people from Barcelona, the Open Banc Sabadell is also attractive for foreign tennis fans. Along with local fans, British, French, German or Canadian tourists combined their holidays in Barcelona and went to see the players despite the rain. The omnipresent sunglasses of the first days of the tournament were replaced this weekend by coats, raincoats and umbrellas. In addition, many people from Manacor, Rafael Nadal’s hometown in Mallorca, came to see their idol in the nearest tournament they have to the Balearic Islands, just a half an hour flight from Palma.

Famous sportsmen, retired tennis players and public authorities were also present, such as Count of Godó, Javier Godó, the retired Catalan tennis player and director of the tournament Albert Costa, the Catalan President Artur Mas or the Barcelona Mayor Xavier Trias. These authorities received the usual whistles in the final which contrasted with the loud applauses to both Rafael Nadal and Nicolás Almagro. Barcelona’s crowd was happy to see two Spanish players in the final of an ATP World Series 500 tournament as prestigious as the Conde de Godó Trophy.