Rafael Nadal won his 12th title in Barcelona after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Spanish sensation was amazing for the entire match, especially when he managed to save 1 match point against his Greek rival. The match ended after 3 hours and 38 minutes, representing the longest match of the year in encounters that are played on the best-of-three scoreline.
After the final, Rafael Nadal had his traditional dive in the pool. Usually, the dive is taken with ball boys. this was not possible this year because of the Coronavirus. Still, the result was great.
As is tradition…
Yet another Barcelona pool jump for @RafaelNadal 💦
(with his socks on 😆) pic.twitter.com/kpjr3qZnft
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) April 25, 2021
Rafa is a regular at this pool 🏊♂️ 🩳 😎
Make that a dozen Barcelona titles and 61 🏆 on clay. pic.twitter.com/KLbXErG0ij
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) April 25, 2021
Rafael Nadal will now rest for one week to prepare his run for the Madrid Open that precedes the ATP1000 in Rome. His obvious target is winning his 14 French Open
Rafael Nadal in 2021
Now ranked no.3, the Spaniard played his last match on the 25th of April when he beat world no.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 in the final in Barcelona to win his 87th career title.
This year Rafael has achieved a 11-2 win-loss record. This year, Nadal won 1 title in Barcelona.
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2021
Now ranked no.5 (career-high), the Greek played his last match on the 25th of April when he lost to world no.3 Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 in the final in Barcelona (draw).
During this season Stefanos owns an overall 26-6 record. This year, Stefanos won 1 title in Monte-Carlo. The Greek reached the final in Acapulco and in Barcelona.
Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas played each other 9 times. Their head to head is 7-2 for Nadal. Previously, the last time when they played each other, Rafael Nadal won 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 in the final in Barcelona (Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell) on the 25th of April 2021.
In the following video you can watch the key moments of their match.
