Rafael Nadal Gains on Novak Djokovic in ATP Rankings With French Open Looming

Rafael Nadal made history once again by capturing his seventh Barcelona Open title with a marathon 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 victory over David Ferrer.

Nadal is now the only man to win two different events at least seven times each.

Last week, he claimed an unprecedented eighth-straight title in his spiritual home of Monte Carlo when he defeated top-ranked Novak Djokovic.

This is Nadal's 34th victory in a row at Barcelona after being defeated by Alex Corretja in 2003, and improved his finals record on clay to 34-4. This is also Nadal's fifth straight title at Real Club de Tenis.

The clay-court specialist has a 14-4 record against Ferrer after winning the 48th trophy of his career.

Up next for Nadal is the Madrid Masters, which is his least favorite clay tournament, as he only has a 24-7 record.

Nadal holds the all-time best winning percentage on clay 241-18 (93%), and will be gearing up to make more history at the French Open. Nadal has been almost unstoppable at Roland Garros with a 45-1 record, and he can surpass Bjorn Borg's total of seven titles if he comes out on top this year.

Meanwhile, Nadal nudged closer to Djokovic at the summit of the latest ATP rankings. The Spaniard, who now has 10,170 ranking points, still trails the top-ranked Serb by a margin of nearly 3,000.

There is only one change in the top 10, with American John Isner moving up to 10th place at the expense of Juan Martin del Potro.

The Argentine has slipped below Frenchman Gilles Simon to 12th.