Rafael Nadal recently questioned Stefanos Tsitsipas’ claim that he may reach the final of the 2024 Barcelona Open.
On April 16, Nadal played his first clay match in 681 days and his first professional match since January 2024, facing Flavio Cobolli in the first round in Barcelona. He overcame the Italian 6-2, 6-3, setting up a meeting with Alex de Minaur in the tournament’s second round, which he has won 12 times.
The victory was the Spaniard’s 481st career win on clay, putting him third all-time. It also improved his remarkable record in the Catalan city to 67-4, with 13 of 16 appearances ending in the semifinals or higher.Before Rafael Nadal began his campaign in the ATP 500 tournament, Stefanos Tsitsipas praised him as one of the favorites to reach the final.
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.”