Rafael Nadal showed what we should expect at Roland Garros as he conquered Dominic Thiem at the Barcelona Open final.


The Spain international did not drop a single set as he cruised to his tenth Barcelona Open title – this makes his 71th career tour title.

The 30-year old star is the first man in the Open era to claim ten titles, after winning the Monte Carlo Masters last week. The king of clay is seeking to repeat the third tenth in Paris later this month.

Thiem had defeated World No. 1 in the last stage en route the finals but he was no match for Nadal who saw him off in 90 minutes. Nadal was terrific at the tournament as he played all his games in the court at the Real Tennis Club renamed after him.

“It was a close first set and a good quality of tennis. Anything could have happened. But then I started playing at a very high level and Dominic started making a few more mistakes,” Nadal said after the duel.

Nadal lifted his title after winning 6-4, 6-1.

Elsewhere, the Hungarian Open ended with Lucas Pouille defeating British star AljazBedene. Bedene was tipped to shock the World No. 14 but it went the usual with him losing 6-2, 6-1. The French top seed broke Bedene’s first service and three more in the second set.

Bedene’s 16-game victory has ended but the player is expected to continue his rise in the rankings. He was not even in the top 100 in March but he has quickly risen to No. 68. With his run in Hungary, he is expected to rise further despite Pouille winning in about an hour.