Rafael Nadal claimed his second title in two weeks when he defeated fellow Spaniard Albert Montanes 6-1, 6-0 in the 52-minute Acapulco final.
Nadal has three ATP titles (all on clay), having won last week in Costa do Sauipe and Sopot. He is 3-1 in career finals.
Nadal won the title without dropping a set. (Last week he was pushed to three sets in the quarters, semis and final.) He is now riding a 10-match winning streak and is 17-4 on the season. (Nadal was 30-17 for the entire 2004 season.)
He finished the Latin America clay court swing with a 12-1 record, his only loss coming to Gaston Gaudio in the Buenos Aires quarterfinals.
It was the second consecutive all-Spanish final in Acapulco. Last year Carlos Moya defeated Fernando Verdasco to capture his second Acapulco title.
Montanes slipped to 0-3 in ATP finals.
In the doubles final, Spaniards David Ferrer and Santiago Ventura won their second title of the swing (Vina del Mar) with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 win over Jiri Vanek and Tomas Zib.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Nadal: "I showed the confidence I have gained since the quarterfinals. I started very well, calm and believing I could win it. Albert started with some nerves making some mistakes and that allowed me to take an early advantage in the score that helped me for my confidence.
" I have played with a lot of motivation and especially since the match against Canas. He is #11 in the World and to beat him the way I did on his favorite surface that got me really pumped up and excited. I definitely improved my level there. After winning that match I found myself in the semis and there I thought why not again and win the title? I played very well against Puerta and that was the key.
About the Golden Swing in Latin America: "This swing has been an A+, there is no other evaluation. I never thought it would be like this. I won two titles and lost in Buenos Aires to the eventual champion and winner of Roland Garros. I did win the first set 6-0 and that match made me be more alert. This is a great swing"
About being one of the hottest players on Tour: "It is very important to be up in the Race and Entry. Ljubicic is also there and we know that Safin and Federer are on another league at the moment"
Montanes: "Nadal played at an unbelievable level. I tried to play my match, to play the match but simply had no chances. I am happy with the week overall since I came into this tournament without having won a single match. After the first round I had more confidence and took out the pressure on me. The result came and I managed to win some important matches. I can say I am happy."
About Nadal: "Nadal is at a very high level. He gave me a tennis lesson like no one had done in a very long time. The thing is that I was playing well. He has a huge self confidence and a very high ball rhythm that only a few can stand at the moment."
Ferrer: "It is funny, we never thought we could win two doubles titles in this swing. We started playing since we are very good friends and hopefully with these results we will be able to play more often� They started very well and surprised us with their returns but we finally managed to get used to their returns and play our game"
Ventura: "We are very good friends, we know each other since we were kids and it is great to have the chance to play together. It is true we are more focused on singles but it is fun to play doubles as well".
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