Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal played a thrilling final in the ATP 500 in Barcelona. Eventually, the King of Clay won the tournament and the final after he saved one Championship point against the Greek sensation. Rafa Nadal had a rather tough heartbreaker during the last Australian Open when he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas after he was leading by 2 sets. However, this time things in Barcelona were completely different, with Nadal finding the solution.
After the match, Rafael Nadal confirmed his great opinion about Stefanos Tsitsipas, saying that he can win every tournament.
“He is a player that plays with a lot of passion. He is young. He feels the sport.
He has the talent and the motivation to be better and better, so it is normal that he is improving in all aspects of his game. He is one of the candidates to win every single tournament that he is playing.”
Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas are not playing this week. They will be back to competitions next week on the occasion of the Madrid Open that will be orphan of Novak Djokovic, who is also the defending champion. Nadal won the Madrid Open five times while Stefanos Tsitsipas is the 2019 runner-up. The tournament was not played in 2020 because of the global pandemic.
Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2021
Currently the world no.5 (career-high), the Greek played his last match on the 25th of April when he surrendered to world no.2 Rafael Nadal 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 in the final in Barcelona (draw).
This season Tsitsipas has managed to achieve a 26-6 match record. This year, The Greek won 1 title in Monte-Carlo. The Greek got to the final in Acapulco and in Barcelona.
Rafael Nadal in 2021
Now ranked no.2, Nadal played his last match on the 25th of April when he defeated world no.5 Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 in the final in Barcelona to win his 87th career title.
At the moment, during this season Rafael achieved an overall 11-2 win-loss record. Nadal has won 1 title in Barcelona.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal squared off 9 times. The head to head is 7-2 for Nadal. The last time they locked horns, 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.
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal |
| Embed from Getty Images |
