Rafael Nadal vs. Kei Nishikori: 2016 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell Score, Recap

After a series of hardships on the hard-court circuit, Rafael Nadal appears ready to soar back up the world rankings as the clay-court season kicks into high gear. 

Nadal found a way to capture his second straight tournament Sunday, earning a 6-4, 7-5 victory over Kei Nishikori in the 2016 Barcelona Open final. As noted by ESPN Tennis, Nadal now has 49 wins on clay, matching Guillermo Vilas' all-time record. This is also his record ninth title in Barcelona. 

BBC's David Law captured Nadal's moment of glory:

The ATP also provided a head-to-head of Nadal and Vilas:

The top-seeded Spaniard has won his last 10 matches on clay. He's clearly rounded into form on his favorite surface after taking surprising losses to Dominic Thiem and Pablo Cuevas in Argentina and Rio earlier this year. 

"I had a tough season in the last few years, but I've had better preparation this year, even with a tough start to the season," Nadal recently said, per Agence France-Presse, via AS. 

Those disappointments haven't been anywhere to be found the last two weeks. Nadal took down Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray and Gael Monfils in succession last week, and he added Fabio Fognini, Philipp Kohlschreiber and Nishikori to his list in Barcelona. 

Playing his patented high-wire brand of tennis, Nadal was at his best Sunday with his back against the wall. He saved 10 of his 13 break points against Nishikori, including seven of eight in the first set. Those points were enough to completely alter the shape of the match.

Nadal pushed Nishikori to a break point only twice in the 6-4 set. He converted both chances.

Nishikori, meanwhile, time and again fell short when he had the opportunity to take control. The two played an almost perfectly even set, but when the points counted, Nadal kept coming through. 

Nadal won on 68 percent of his first-serve points during the first set. Nishikori won 65. Nadal put 69 percent of his first serves in play. Nishikori was good on 67 percent. 

The second set was almost a mirror of competitiveness. Nadal and Nishikori hit shots back and forth throughout, trading off breaks while playing brilliant returns. While both were consistently accurate on first-serve opportunities, they found consistent resistance on the other side. After largely dominant performances in the first set, neither was serving at the peak of his consistency.

Nishikori won only half of his service points, while Nadal was good on 54 percent. Both players actually fared better on their second serves—a strange disparity given how conservative guys can be to avoid double-faults.

Once again, it was break points that wound up changing the match. This time, Nishikori was far better on the defensive. He won seven of 10 opportunities; unfortunately that meant Nadal broke him on three occasions. Nishikori was only able to convert on two of his five chances against Nadal, leading to the 7-5 win.

Nadal will move on to play in next week's Madrid Open, where he'll attempt to break Vilas' record. He was a finalist in the tournament a year ago after winning it in both 2013 and 2014. Overall, Nadal's four championships in Madrid are the most in history.

If he's able to make it five, we may have to start considering him an overwhelming favorite again once the tour hits Roland Garros in May. 

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Post-Match Reaction

“It was a very close match,” Nadal said, per the ATP. “There were a lot of chances for both of us, but I think I have been solid. When you play against players with such a high level, the match is often decided by a few moments. So I feel happy that I handled all these important moments well mentally.

“I have been working so hard to enjoy moments like this. The fact that I’m playing at home is always even more special. I’m very happy and I feel lucky to enjoy this again.”

"It's been a great three years for me, even if I lost today," Nishikori said, per Al Jazeera. "I feel very comfortable here. Every year I feel excited to come back to play."