Posted at 6:59 a.m., Sunday, April 29, 2007
Nadal wins Barcelona title for 72nd win in row on clay
Associated Press
BARCELONA, Spain — Rafael Nadal won his third straight Open Seat Godo championship today, defeating Guillermo Canas of Argentina 6-3, 6-4 for his 72nd consecutive victory on clay.Nadal hasn't dropped a set since top-ranked Roger Federer won the first set of their French Open final last year.
Four players _ Nadal, Mats Wilander, Roy Emerson and Manuel Orantes _ have won three times at Barcelona. Nadal tied Wilander's 23-year-old record of three straight championships.
Top-seeded Nadal saved two break chances for Canas in the first game. Both players then held serve until the sixth when the French Open champion scored the decisive break, sending a forehand out of the Argentine's reach. Nadal then held for the set.
Nadal scored the decisive break in the seventh game of the second set. The Spaniard held serve for the rest of the set to win the 12th title of his clay court streak.
Nadal improved to 3-0 against Canas, who reached his second straight final after losing to Novak Djokovic at the Sony Ericsson Open this month.
Nadal can also win a doubles championship Sunday, when he plays with Bartolome Salva-Vidal of Spain against Andrei Pavel of Romania and Alexander Waske of Germany in the final.
