Rafael Nadal wins at Barcelona to tie a men’s tennis record with his 49th clay-court title

Rafael Nadal beat two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori, 6-4, 7-5, to win the Barcelona Open for the ninth time on Sunday and equal Guillermo Vilas’ men’s tennis record of 49 career clay-court titles.

Nadal, a Spaniard playing on home turf, won for the second consecutive week, adding this title to his trophy from Monte Carlo. The 14-time Grand Slam winner appears to be regaining form on his favorite surface ahead of next month’s French Open. “These have been two fantastic weeks, weeks I have been striving for for a long time,” he said.

Nishikori had won the tournament the previous two years after early exits by Nadal.

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Angelique Kerber defended her Porsche Grand Prix title with a 6-4, 6-0 win over qualifier Laura Siegemund in an all-German final at Stuttgart, Germany. Kerber, the Australian Open champion, won 12 of the final 13 games after falling behind 3-0 in the final of the indoor clay-court tournament. It was her ninth career title.