Rafael Nadal continued his almost total domination of the Barcelona Open by defeating David Ferrer in the final to win the tournament for a seventh time.
The two Spaniards were meeting in the final for the fourth time in five years and, as was the case on each of the previous three occasions, Nadal emerged victorious with a hard-fought 7-6 (7/1) 7-5 win.
In a match that lasted two hours and 40 minutes, Nadal faced 15 break points and managed to save 12 of them to record his 11th victory in 12 meetings with Ferrer on clay.
World number two Nadal, 25, has now lifted the Barcelona Open title seven times in the last eight years, with the only blemish coming in 2010 when he did not take part in the event due to fatigue and Fernando Verdasco took advantage to beat Robin Soderling in the final.
The success was the 48th title of Nadal's career and second of the year following his victory over Novak Djokovic in the final in Monte Carlo earlier this month.
Nadal said: "It's almost unimaginable to win here seven times. It's a special tournament for me, at home in my club. To win at home in front of the people you know is always more special."
Ahead of his bid for a record seventh title at the French Open, Nadal is happy with his form.
He added: "I played at a very high level to win in Monte-Carlo and now Barcelona without losing a set, but I've been playing at a high level from the beginning of the year starting in Australia."
Ferrer, the world number six, was looking to win his fourth ATP World Tour title of 2012 but, despite a battling display, he once again came up short against his countryman.
He had his chances, though.
Ferrer held five set points in the 12th game of the opening set only to lose it on a tie-break, while he served for the second at 5-4 only for Nadal to break back.
The runner-up admitted he had missed an opportunity.
"I had chances in both sets," said Ferrer."He played better in the important moments.
"It's always hard to lose a final, but especially today it's hard because of the way it happened. It came down to small details, but Rafa deserved it.
"Overall I am happy with my week. I played my best match of the week today, but to win against Rafa I had to do more. I played a bit too conservatively on the set points in the first set."
