By Ricky Dimon
Rafael
Nadal won the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell for the 12th time in his career on
Sunday afternoon. This one, though, was unlike any other.
Nadal saved one championship point before outlasting Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4,
6-7(6), 7-5 in an absolute thriller of a final. At three hours and 38 minutes,
it is the longest ATP match of the year to date.
Heading into Sunday’s title match, Tsitsipas had won 17 sets in a row over the
last two weeks. Of course, the Monte-Carlo champion had not run into anyone
quite like the King of Clay during the hot streak. Facing a different kind of
beast in the Barcelona final, Tsitsipas dropped the opening set from a break
up. The Greek led 4-2 only to lose four games in a row.
The tables turned in set two, when it was Tsitsipas who mounted a comeback.
Barcelona’s No. 2 seed faced two championship points while serving at 4-5,
15-40, but saved both of them to stay alive. After holding for 5-5 and
eventually forcing a tiebreaker, Tsitsipas recovered from an early mini-break
deficit to take the ‘breaker 8-6.
In the third, both men held serve through the first nine games without a single break point yielded. That suddenly changed with Nadal serving to stay in the match at 4-5. A break point for Tsitsipas was also a championship point, but the Spaniard fought off by winning an extended rally–which included one backhand off the net cord.
“I felt like I was close and I felt like there were opportunities that I had and for some reason I didn’t take (them),” Tsitsipas said. “I felt I could have pulled off better tennis today, but I’m happy that I [was] so close. I was a match point up…. That ball on the match point, I was literally two centimeters from winning that match.”
It was as close as the world No. 5 would get. Nadal held for 5-5, converted his fourth break point of the next game, and then served it out from break point down at 6-5.
“I think I never played a final like this in this tournament, so it means a lot to me against a player like him, [after what] he achieved in Monte-Carlo and [that he reached] the final here without losing a set,” Nadal explained. “It is an important victory for me. I think I have been increasing my level during the whole week and this victory confirms it.
“To have the trophy with me here at home means a lot, but at the same time for the future.”
It’s the past in Barcelona that is especially impressive. Nadal is now 66-4 lifetime a tournament where the main court is named none other than Pista Rafael Nadal. His 12 titles are the second-most he has won at a single tournament, trailing only his 13 at Roland Garros.
As for Tsitsipas, he is now a two-time runner-up in Barcelona–having previously lost to Nadal in the 2018 final. With a 9-1 record on clay in 2021 that includes his first-ever Masters 1000 title, the 22-year-old is looking like one of Nadal’s biggest French Open threats along with Novak Djokovic.
Tsitsipas could not have been a bigger threat on Sunday, despite falling just “centimeters” short.
“He’s a real competitor on the court,” he said of Nadal. “He hates to lose. He hates to lose more than anyone else. I haven’t seen anyone fight like this. He makes my life really difficult on court.”
To say it was difficult for both men on Sunday would be a gross understatement. Tsitsipas threw everything he had at Nadal and vice versa. The result was an epic struggle and perhaps the precursor to what could be a competitive, grueling, and wildly entertaining clay-court season.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.
Editors Note : It was a great great final. Every point was a battle. It really was amazing to see these guys give it their all. The awards ceremonies were awesome. The stands were awesome. The “Boxes” were really BOXES.(SEATS)
The stadium was pandemic protocol but brilliantly set up on all four sides. (LJ)