Nadal clay run goes on

The Spaniard broke early in the first set and settled into a rhythm as the 24-year-old continued his assault on the record books.

His dip in form in the second set threatened to give Ferrer a lifeline, but he came back to his best in time to complete a straight sets triumph.

He claimed his sixth title in as many appearances at Barcelona, took his unbeaten run on the surface to 34 matches and six tournaments as his preparations for the French Open at Roland Garros continued unimpeded.

"It's incredible to come back here to my tournament and my fans after not being able to play last year," Nadal said before hoisting aloft the huge Conde de Godo trophy.

"I am very, very happy for the win and sorry for David, who is having a fantastic year and deserves a title.

"It's bad luck for him having to play me in three finals but it's my sixth title here and it's a huge delight."

The first couple of games were evenly contested as the world number one found his radar, and Nadal was forced to save a break point on his first service game, which he did with powerful serving.

And from that point his groundstrokes began to fire, especially his forehand which was as vicious as it was accurate, and Ferrer could not answer back.

Ferrer was broken on serve three times in succession as the pressure told, and forced to take on full-blooded, risky shots to stay in contention with his friend.

It worked once, as he broke back to reduce his arrears to 4-2, but he was a distant second-best, and Nadal took the next two games to take the first set.

There was no let-up as the left-hander's sweet shot-making continued in the Barcelona breeze, and he raced into a 2-0 lead.

But just as the match looked to have passed him by, Ferrer saved a break point which, had Nadal converted, would have left him a set and a double-break down, and then caught Nadal napping to break to love and level, before beating the world number one again with his best spell of the match to open up a 4-2 advantage.

An awkward slip looked to throw Ferrer off his stride though as Nadal ground his way back into the contest. He immediately broke back then fended off the determined challenge of Ferrer to hold his serve and level at 4-4.

Nadal upped the pressure at just the right moment, and Ferrer's errors cost him a sixth break of serve in the match - and with more patient play and trademark forehands, the left-hander served out for the match, winning his 31st title on clay in 110 minutes.