After Stefanos Tsitsipas’ prediction that Rafael Nadal would win the Barcelona Open, the Spaniard has called the statement of the Greek player nonsense. In his opening match of the competition, Nadal defeated Flavio Cobolli 2-6 3-6 on Tuesday, winning in straight sets.
Though Nadal looked impressive in Catalonia, he has denied being one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Speaking after his win against Cobolli, Nadal said: “It’s nonsense [the comments from Tsitsipas], let’s face it, he knows that’s not the case. I suppose there is a lot of respect for what I have been in this tournament, but everyone knows that I am no longer a favourite to aspire to win a tournament. There is simply a story behind it that weighs heavily on rivals. To this day I am not the favorite, maybe in today’s game yes, it is possible.”
He continued: “I know that tomorrow [against Alex de Minaur] I am not a favourite, but it doesn’t matter either. These are things for you [the media], you have to write about these things, for me, it is an experience playing against a top-level player. It will be a test for me, we will see how I respond.”
It follows Tsitsipas’s recent victory at the Monte-Carlo Masters when he put Nadal on notice by stating that he was one of the favourites to win the title in Barcelona.
Tsitsipas had earlier stated his remarks about Nadal: “I think Rafa is the favourite. I can have good weeks on clay, but Rafa is Rafa. He plays good tennis, no doubt about it. Also, we have other players, like Casper Ruud, who is good on this surface. The competition is great, this is not an ordinary tournament from the 500 series, it is one of the most difficult in the season.”
Nadal in Barcelona, ranking, and results in 2024
Ranked no.644, Rafael owns an overall 3-1 record in 2024. The Spaniard is currently playing in Barcelona where he overcame the world no.62 Flavio Cobolli 6-2 6-3.
Rafael Nadal will fight against the world no.11 Alex De Minaur in the 2nd round on Wednesday at 4:00 pm on PISTA RAFA NADAL. The head to head is 3-1 for Nadal.
Rafael won 92 titles in his career: 24 on hard courts, 63 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
He is also scheduled to play in Madrid (Mutua Madrid Open) on the 24th of April and Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia) on the 8th of May.
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2024
At the moment ranked no.7, Stefanos played his last match on the 14th of April when he overcame world no.6 Casper Ruud 6-1 6-4 in the final in Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters to win his 12th career title.
Until now, during this year Tsitsipas has a compiled 17-6 record. This year, Stefanos won 1 tournament in Monte-Carlo.
Stefanos Tsitsipas will fight against the world no.43 Sebastian Ofner in the 2nd round on Wednesday at 6:30 pm on PISTA RAFA NADAL. Their current record is 2-0 for Tsitsipas.
The Greek clinched 1 title in 2024 in Monte-Carlo.
Tsitsipas won 12 titles in his career: 1 on hard courts, 5 on clay courts, 5 on indoor courts and 1 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas faced off 9 times. Their head to head is 7-2 for Nadal. Before, the last time they squared off, Rafael Nadal won 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 in the final in Barcelona (Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell) in April 2021.
In the video below you can watch the highlights.
