BARCELONA — Kei Nishikori was crowned Barcelona Open champion for the second consecutive year after a hard-fought 6-4 6-4 victory over surprise Spanish finalist Pablo Andujar on Sunday.
It was the ninth career title for the top-seeded Japanese, who again showed his improved endurance as he battled to come out on top against the world number 66.
"I didn't think about winning the tournament at the start of the week because of the strength of the players here, especially the Spanish, but now I am very happy," Nishikori told reporters.
"I knew that Andujar has a good backhand and my plan was to move the ball around a bit.