Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal poses for photographs with the trophy after his victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in their final match of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on April 29, 2018 in Barcelona.Alex Caparros/Getty Images
Rafael Nadal continues to make winning on clay look all too easy.
Nadal extended his dominance on the surface with a 6-2, 6-1 win over 19-year-old Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday to win his 11th Barcelona Open title.
Nadal, who also won his 11th Monte Carlos Masters title last week, was never seriously challenged on his way to a 19th straight victory on clay.
The top-ranked Spaniard has won 46 straight sets on clay, extending his own record. He hasn’t lost on clay since facing Dominic Thiem in Rome last year.
It was the 77th title over all for Nadal, tying him with John McEnroe for fourth best in the Open Era. Only Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl are ahead.
Nadal, who won his 400th match on clay in Saturday’s semi-final, needed the victory in Barcelona to secure his No. 1 ranking.
“It’s hard for anybody to imagine all the feelings and emotions I have when I play here,” Nadal said. “Hopefully I can keep coming back for many more years to come.”
Nadal was out of action earlier this year because of a lingering right hip injury sustained in the Australian Open quarter-final. He returned to help Spain defeat Germany in the Davis Cup quarter-final and then went on to win in Monte Carlo.
“I’ve had two fantastic weeks but we were coming off difficult months because of the injuries,” Nadal said.
The 63rd-ranked Tsitsipas was trying to become the first Greek to win an ATP Tour title. He was the first Greek to make it to an ATP final since Nicholas Kalogeropoulos in 1973.
Tsitsipas was the youngest finalist in Barcelona since 2005 and was looking to become the first unseeded champion in the tournament since Gaston Gaudio in 2002.
Tsitsipas had 23 unforced errors in the 77-minute loss on the Nadal court, with brief rain interruptions.
The Greek is expected to move to 44th in the rankings after his performance in Barcelona.