French Open champion Nadal, fresh from winning an unprecedented eighth straight title at Monte Carlo last weekend, overwhelmed Verdasco 6-0, 6-4 in just 85 minutes with four breaks of serve.

David Ferrer

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Third seed Ferrer had a tougher afternoon, requiring just over two hours in defeating huge-serving Canadian Milos Raonic 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5). Nadal has dominated the Barcelona event, winning six titles in seven previous appearances. On the one occasion he didn’t play — he missed 2010 with knee problems — Verdasco took the honours.

Nadal’s victory was his 38th winning semi-final in a row on clay, with his last loss coming to Carlos Moya in 2003. Of Sunday’s final, Nadal said: “David and I have always had tough matches and I’m expecting another one on Sunday.”u00a0