Congratulations Rafa Nadal for winning the Barcelona Open for the 12th time!
It wasn't an easy road to the final. Rafa dropped a set in his first two matches before finding his form in the quarters and the semis. In the final, he faced an in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas who not only won Monte Carlo the previous week (and without dropping a set!) but who also defeated Rafa in a tough five set match in the Australian Open earlier this year. Rafa actually held a match points in the second set of the final but it was on Stefanos' serve. Not only did Stefanos save the match point, he managed to win that set to even things out. In the 3rd set, Tsitsipas was on the verge of his second consecutive title as he held a match point against Nadal but he managed to save it. He then won that game, broke Stefanos in the next game, then served out the match. Check out the match highlights here.
video uploaded in youtube by Tennis TV
This win means that Rafa has now won at least one title each year for 18 consecutive years (from 2004 to 2021). This record in men's tennis is just absolutely staggering. I am hoping that this gives him confidence to defend his French Open title. The next generation players including Tsitsipas, Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, and now Andrey Rublev are really getting closer to the top as they consistently challenge the Big Three now. I'm hoping Rafa can still hold on to claim Roland Garros #14.
Good luck, Rafa, and congratulations on your Barcelona title!
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