Nadal takes third title of the year in Barcelona
1st May 2006
World number 2 Rafael Nadal continued to show the form that made him such a dominant force on the red clay last year by romping towards the Barcelona-title. Nadal lost only one set on the way to the title and defeated Tommy Robredo in 3 quick sets in the final.
With this title Nadal managed to reclaim the title that he won last year and also keep his 47-match winning streak alive, edging ever closer to Guillermo Vilas’ record of 53 consecutive undefeated matches on the grinded red clay.
Nadal also won his 12th consecutive final and has yet to lose a final in a claycourt tournament.
During this tournament only one player, Fin Jarkko Nieminen, really managed to make the Spaniard sweat, surprisingly winning the first set in their quarterfinal match, but the energetic Spaniard managed to recover and grind out a tough win.
For losing finalist Tommy Robredo it was the 6th final of his career, winning 2 of those finals, with the most important one being in this exact tournament 2 years ago.
The Spaniard now return to the 12th position in world rankings, equalling the highest ranking he ever reached in his career, a ranking that he reached on the 25th of October 2004.
Both players will now take a well-deserved one-week break, to prepare themselves for the Masters tournament in Rome, where Nadal will defend another title.
Final result Barcelona:
Rafael Nadal (ESP,1) d. Tommy Robredo (ESP,6) 6-4 6-4 6-0
Final doubles result Barcelona:
Mark Knowles/Daniel Nestor (BAH/CAN,1) d. Mariusz Fyrstenberg/Marcin Matkowski (POL,8) 6-2 6-7(4) 10-5 (match tie-break)
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