A SPECTACULAR performance on home turf saw Spain's Rafa Nadal clinch his 11th Barcelona Open title after dispatching Stefanos Tsitsipas in two straight sets.
The 'King of Clay' was already celebrating his 400th win on his favourite surface the day before, and a week earlier netted another 11-times title after clearing up at the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters.
Now, Mallorca-born world number one has joined legendary John McEnroe in snaffling his 77th trophy since the start of the so-called 'Open Era', and is only beaten in title totals by Jimmy Connors, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl.
Unseeded Tsitsipas, who is just 19 and already sits at number 63 in the world, had never played his hero Rafa before, but put up a good fight in the Conde de Godó Cup final before falling to the unstoppable Spanish ace, who has now won his 55th clay tournament.
Despite the rain and wind, which led to the match at Barcelona Royal Tennis Club being stopped several times – or perhaps because of it – Nadal displayed a clear advantage over his young rival, who was no match for the star's famous forehand, sharp focus and relentless authority, leading to a 6-2 6-1 victory.
The Barcelona Open final was Rafa's 19th match win on the trot, having not dropped a single one of his last 46 sets.
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