(April 26, 2015) Japan’s Kei Nishikori came back from breaks in both sets to defeat Spain’s Pablo Andujar 6-4, 6-4 to defend his title at the Barcelona Open. This is the second title that the world No. 5 has defended this year, he also repeated in Memphis in February. This is Nishikori’s ninth ATP career title.
“I’m really happy I’m able to defend the title,” said Nishikori. “I think the second set was extremely tough and I don’t really know how I won it to be honest. Pablo was very aggressive, he kept moving the ball and made me run up and down all the time. I also tried to be aggressive and I think that’s why I won the important points, but I’d say he played better than me.
“I think this victory on clay and in such a difficult tournament gives me a lot of confidence to face the upcoming competitions. It’s just an amazing feeling to win a title. I have to come back to Barcelona.”
“I didn’t look to defend my title, just to play my best. I knew that this was a tough tournament with all the Spanish players. I just tried to play my best and now I am really happy.”
“It was a great, high-quality final,” Andujar said. “We were both playing well. I played better in the second set and I felt I deserved something more, but what happened was I let some opportunities pass. I believe that I could have won but here we are. I feel I played my best tennis this week.”