Stefanos Tsitsipas lost the final in Barcelona against Rafael Nadal after playing for more than 3 hours. The Greek sensation had a match point in the third set, but Rafael managed to save it with a gutsy play.
Rafael Nadal is the King of Clay. Besides winning 13 French Open, after this match he has 12 titles in Barcelona under his belt.
During the Trophy presentation, Stefanos Tsitsipas made everyone laughing after saying that he is quite jealous of Rafael Nadal winning so many titles.
Making fun of Rafa, Stefanos said: “28 Barcelona titles is not bad, I’m really jealous!”
Here the video.
After this ATP 500 in Barcelona, both Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas will take a break from competitions for one week. They will be back on the occasion of the ATP 1000 in Madrid.
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2021
Now ranked no.5 (career-high), Stefanos played his last contest on the 25th of April when he surrendered to world no.3 Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 in the final in Barcelona (draw).
This season the Greek owns a 26-6 match record. This year, The Greek won 1 title in Monte-Carlo. The Greek was the runner-up in Acapulco and in Barcelona.
Rafael Nadal in 2021
At the moment ranked no.3, the Spaniard played his last match on the 25th of April when he overcame 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 Nadal achieved an overall 11-2 win-loss record. This year, Rafael conquered 1 title in Barcelona.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal played each other 9 times. Their actual head to head record is 7-2 for Nadal. Previously, the last time when they fought against 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.
You can see them in action in the following highlights.