Rafael Nadal underlined his status as the king of clay on Sunday when he beat Guillermo Canas 6-3, 6-4 to win the Barcelona Open for the third consecutive year.

The victory extended his record winning streak on the surface to 72 matches.

The Spanish top seed was made to fight hard by the Argentine 12th seed but one break in each set was enough to seal victory and make him only the second man to win the title three years in a row.

"To win another final, in Barcelona, at home here, it's a great feeling," Nadal said.

"The first time I won it was like a dream, so what can I say, to win it for a third time, to win my 20th title here, it is an amazing feeling."

Canas, who beat world number one Roger Federer twice on hard courts last month, had two break points in the opening game of the match but that was as close as he came to taking the Spaniard's serve. 

The only break in the first set came in the sixth game and after serving out for the set, Nadal repeated the feat in the seventh game of the second to clinch his 20th career title and his 15th on clay.

Canas, who began the year ranked 142, is set to rise to 22 when the new ATP list is released on Monday and said he was happy with the way he played against Nadal.

"I think my level was good today, the only difference was a few points," he said.

"I had the luck to beat Roger (Federer) twice on hard courts -- maybe I didn't have the luck to beat Rafa today.

"But I am very happy with the way I played this week, to reach another final."