Rafael Nadal beat defending champion Kei Nishikori 6-4, 7-5 to win the Barcelona Open for the ninth time Sunday, equaling Guillermo Vilas' record of 49 career clay-court titles. Nadal added this title to his trophy from Monte Carlo last week as the 14-time Grand Slam winner regains form on his favorite surface ahead of next month's French Open. Nishikori had won the tournament for the last two years after early exits by Nadal. In an entertaining clash of the top two seeded players, Nadal proved more decisive under pressure, saving seven of eight break chances in the first set while converting the two chances he got. The Spaniard then bettered Nishikori through several superb rallies to win key points and claim his 69th career title in his 101st final. Kerber defends Stuttgart title Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber picked up her second title of 2016 with a 6-4, 6-0 victory over qualifier Laura Siegemund in Sunday's final of the WTA clay-court tournament in Stuttgart. In an all-German final, Kerber claimed her first win since her Melbourne triumph in January with an impressive display against Siegemund, who had beaten seeds Simona Halep, Roberta Vinci and Agnieszka Radwanska, all ranked in the world's top ten. This was Siegemund's debut in a WTA final and Kerber's first since the Australian Open as she defended her Stuttgart title. Kerber came out on top in a tight first set, then raced into a 2-0 lead as Seigemund had to briefly receive treatment. She dominated the 28-year-old Seigemund, who has shot up the world rankings to 42 on the back of her performances in Stuttgart, and kept finding her shots on the baseline to quickly race to a 4-0 lead. Having broken Siegemund to go 5-0 up, Kerber used her first championship ball to seal the win which again includes the prize of a luxury Porsche sports car. Buyukakcay lands Istanbul title Cagla Buyukakcay capped a historic week at the Istanbul Cup by becoming the first Turkish winner of a WTA tournament following a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Montenegro's Danka Kovinic. Unseeded Buyukakcay, the world No. 118, had become the first Turkish woman to reach a top-level tour semifinal, before progressing to Sunday's title decider where she recovered from a set down to beat 60th-ranked Kovinic. Buyukakcay, 26, is set to break into the world's top 100 for the first time in her career when the latest WTA rankings are released Monday. Bucharest final postponed Sunday's final at the ATP event in Bucharest between Fernando Verdasco and Lucas Pouille has been postponed until Monday due to rain. Spaniard Verdasco, ranked 86th, is seeking a seventh career title while Frenchman Pouille, the world number 72, is through to his first top-level tour final. — Agencies Caption Spain's Rafael Nadal poses for a photo with the trophy after winning the Barcelona Open in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday. — AP
