Verdasco wins Barcelona ATP title

Verdasco wins Barcelona ATP title

Fernando Verdasco continued his impressive build-up to Roland Garros defeating last year’s French Open runner-up Robin Soderling to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday, April 25. The fifth seed has been in imperious form after a showing in last week’s Monte Carlo Masters final, where he lost to his Spanish compatriot Rafael Nadal. But Verdasco managed to find enough energy to beat second seed Soderling 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 at the Reial Club de Tennis. After the match was level on sets, Verdasco was egged on by the home crowd and the 26-year-old clinched his second title of the year when Soderling went wide with a backhand to make Verdasco the eighth straight Spanish winner of the huge Conde de Godo trophy in the Catalan capital. Nadal, who had won the title in Barcelona the past five years, withdrew from this year's event to rest before next week's Rome Masters.