Nadal beats Wawrinka, wins Madrid Open

Rafael Nadal won his fifth title since returning from a knee injury by beating Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday's final of the Madrid Open. Cheered on by

Rafael Nadal won his fifth title since returning from a knee injury by beating Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-4 in Sunday's final of the Madrid Open.

Cheered on by the home crowd at the Caja Magica, the fifth-ranked Nadal cruised to his 55th career title and extended his head-to-head record with the Swiss to 9-0.

Nadal grabbed the first set in just over half an hour and closed out the second after Wawrinka put up more of a fight.

It was Nadal's seventh straight final since recovering from a nagging case of tendinitis in his left knee that sidelined him for seven months.

Earlier, defending champion Serena Williams beat Maria Sharapova 6-1, 6-4 in the women's final to both retain her No. 1 ranking and collect her 50th career title.