BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal moved into second place on the all-time clay win streak list as he won his 47th straight on the surface, defeating Tommy Robredo 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 to lift the 2.08-million-euro Barcelona Open.
The teenaged world number two nudged past the 46 of Bjorn Borg, which he achieved in Saturday's semi-finals. He now stands six behind all-time leader Guillermo Vilas of Argentina, who set the streak standard on clay during 1977.
He has now won his 12 finals. "I usually play my best matches in the finals," said Nadal. "Today was my best match of the week."
Nadal now stands 3-0 over Robredo and with a week to rest before playing as second seed at the Rome Masters where he will again run into rival Roger Federer.
Nadal beat the Swiss last week to lift a second consecutive title at Monte Carlo.
"It is a dream to keep on winning, my motivation now is for two days of rest before starting preparation for Rome."
Nadal's win over Robredo Sunday improves his 2006 mark to 22 wins, three defeats and produced an 11-0 career record in clay finals for the 19-year-old.
Nadal now owns three titles this season, with two of those coming in title defences from last season. The teenager won eight clay titles during a torrid 2005.
Nadal claimed back-to-back trophies in Barcelona in two hours, 18 minutes.
Nadal needed 52 minutes to grind through the opening set, with one break of serve in the third game making all the difference.
Taking the early lead, Nadal could not break a second-set deadlock until he managed a 5-4 lead from a break of his compatriot. But trying to serve out the set proved to be a test, with Robredo saving two set points and forcing a break point before Nadal moved to a two-sets-to-one lead.
The third set turned into a blowout, as Nadal trampled through for the win and ensured a Spanish title-holder at the tournament for the fourth year in a row.
