Nishikori beats Andujar to defend Barcelona Open title

Japan’s Kei Nishikori claimed his second consecutive Barcelona Open title on Sunday with a hard-fought 6-4, 6-4 over Spaniard Pablo Andujar. Andujar had upset Rafael Nadal’s conquerer Fabio Fognini and David Ferrer on his route to the final and made the perfect start by breaking the world number five’s serve in the first game. However, Nishikori broke straight back and then sealed the set by breaking once more in the 10th game. The second set followed a similar pattern as Andujar moved into a 4-2 lead, but Nishikori then upped his level to race through the final four games to seal his ninth career title. “Finally yes, I am the champion, but in the beginning (of the week), I was just playing one match at at time with so many tough players and all the Spanish players playing here. I tried to do my best and I am very happy,” said Nishikori.