Rafael Nadal recently dismissed Stefanos Tsitsipas’ assertion that he could make it to the final of the 2024 Barcelona Open.
On April 16, Nadal competed in his first clay match in 681 days and his first professional match since January 2024, facing Flavio Cobolli in the opening round in Barcelona. He narrowly defeated the Italian 6-2, 6-3, paving the way for a showdown with Alex de Minaur in the second round of the tournament which he has won 12 times.
The victory marked the Spaniard’s 481st career win on clay, placing him third on the all-time list. It also boosted his impressive record in the Catalonian city to 67-4, where he has reached the semifinals or better in 13 out of 16 appearances.
Before Rafael Nadal began his campaign in the ATP 500 tournament, Stefanos Tsitsipas touted him as one of the favorites to reach the final, despite his ongoing struggles with injury.
“Well, I would say that Rafa [Nadal], regardless of whether he hasn’t played at all or if that’s his first tournament. We all know what Rafa is capable of and how quickly he can adjust to one of his favorite surfaces, which is a clay court,” Tsitsipas told the media after his Monte-Carlo Masters title win.
“I would not be surprised if we saw Rafa be in the finals of Barcelona, because that is something that he has done over and over again for years and years and years,” he added.
Following his win over Cobolli, Nadal spoke with the media and dismissed Tsitsipas’ remarks, calling them “stupid.”
“It’s stupid, let’s face it, he [Stefanos Tsitsipas] knows it’s not like that,” Nadal said (via Punto de Break). “I guess there’s a lot of respect for what I’ve been in this tournament, but everyone knows that I’m no longer a favorite to aspire to win a tournament.”
The 22-time Grand Slam champion added that his approach is to tackle one match at a time:
“To this day I’m not a favourite, maybe in today’s game I am. It’s possible. I swear I have no idea if I was or not. I didn’t care either. I know I’m not the favourite tomorrow, but it doesn’t matter either. It will be a test for me, we’ll see how I respond.”
Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas may meet in Barcelona Open 2024 SF
Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas could face off in the semifinals of the 2024 Barcelona Open.
If Nadal successfully defeats Alex de Minaur in the second round, his next challenge would likely be against either Daniel Altmaier or Arthur Fils. Following that, he would face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Ugo Humbert in the quarterfinals.
In the semifinals, he would possibly lock horns with Stefanos Tsitsipas, setting the stage for a potential rematch of the 2018 and 2022 finals in Barcelona. The 37-year-old came out on top on both occasions.
Meanwhile, Tsitsipas will kick off his singles campaign in the claycourt tournament on April 17 against Sebastian Ofner in the second round, having received a first-round bye.
