April 26, 2009

Rafa Nadal, ‘The King of Clay’ will attempt to win his fifth straight Barcelona Open title this afternoon when he meets his friend and compatriot, David Ferrer in a repeat of last year's final.

“I value a lot what is happening to me right now. I know how difficult it is to be in a final five times in a row, and the fact that it is in a tournament like this means a lot to me”, said the World No.1 at a press conference as he continued his domination on clay with a straight-set victory (6-3 6-2) over Nikolay Davydenko in yesterday’s semifinals.

Rafa had to work for the first set and saved three break points before breaking the Davydenko serve midway through.

A second break secured the set and the Spaniard raced into a 4-1 lead in the next, although once again faced three break points in the fifth game, before sealing victory in one hour and 46 minutes.

"It wasn't a great performance but I didn't make too many errors," admitted the 22-year-old. "It was a hard match, even if that is not necessarily reflected in the result.

"Whatever happens tomorrow, it's an excellent start to the clay season"…"I'm enjoying the best moment of my career this past year and I have to appreciate that and feel happy about it."

HEAD-TO-HEAD AGAINST FERRER

The pair have played a total of 9 times before, with the 'Spanish Bull' winning 6 of those matches. The last time they played each other was precisely at this same event, in the same round, and with a 6-1 4-6 6-1, result in favour of Nadal.

Last time Ferrer beat Rafa was in the 2007 Tennis Masters Cup with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win in round-robin play.

“[Playing] against David is always difficult. I’ve won and I’ve lost [in the past] against him. He’s a top level player and I know that in order to win, I have to play my best tennis,” said Rafael about his opponent.

David on the other hand, was a bit more pessimistic about the encounter "Rafa is the World No. 1 and the best on clay, it's very difficult to beat him… I'll try to play good tennis, if not I'm dead, but I'm not thinking about whether or not I'll beat him, I go on the court to play as well as possible."

Rafa’s statistics on clay continue to amaze. The Mallorcan has won his past 24 matches on the surface, with his last loss coming to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round of ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Rome last year, and has a staggering 141-4 match record on clay since 2005.

The left-hander is chasing his 24th clay-court title and his 35th tour-level trophy (34-9 lifetime) on all surfaces. Last week he claimed his 14th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 shield on clay at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, where he has won each year since 2005.

ORDER OF PLAY

Today’s Conde de Godó final will be played at the ‘Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona’ Stadium at 4:00pm (local time).

Vamos Rafa!