Nadal wins record eighth Barcelona title

Rafael Nadal won the Barcelona Open for the eighth time Sunday after seeing off Nicolas Almagro 6-4, 6-3 in the final. It was Nadal’s 54th career title and fourth this year, having made six straight finals after returning from a knee injury that had kept him off the courts since last summer.

Almagro played aggressively early on and built a 3-0 lead, but Nadal found his form and broke his fellow Spaniard in three of his next four service games to take the initiative for good. The title came one week after Nadal’s eight-year reign at Monte Carlo ended in a loss to top-ranked Novak Djokovic.

“I am very happy,” Nadal said. “It has been an important week for me to win here again and a great source of joy after everything I have been through.” Nadal has won 39 straight matches on the red clay at Real Club de Tenis, with his last loss coming 10 years ago to Spain’s Davis Cup captain, Alex Corretja.

The 26-year-old Nadal won the tournament from 2005-09 but missed the 2010 edition because of a knee injury. He has won every year since.

His latest trophy is a promising sign that he is getting back to full fitness after his nagging case of tendinitis in time for the French Open beginning at the end of May.