KEI NISHIKORI DEFENDS BARCELONA OPEN TITLE

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​Kei Nishikori won Barcelona Open champion for a second consecutive year after a 6-4 6-4 victory over surprise Spanish finalist Pablo Andujar. It was the ninth career title for the top-seeded Japanese, who displayed his capability as he battled on to come out on top against Andujar.

Despite racking up 13 unforced errors, Nishikori still managed to break his opponent at 5-4 to win the first set. The Japanese world No 5 continued to make mistakes as the Spaniard went into a 2-0 lead in the next and then survived a break point to go 3-1 ahead.

Yet Nishikori rallied to level at 4-4 before, in Andujar's next service game, a double fault gifted Nishikori match point and a backhand down the line gave him the victory. Nishikori exploded on the tennis scene last year, reaching his first ever Grand Slam final at the US Open and he will be among the favourites to win the French Open next month.

Strong from the back of the court, he is well suited to clay courts, also having reached the final of the Madrid Open in 2014 where he had to retire injured against Rafael Nadal.


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