Everyone considered him the favourite. Since he reached the final of the 2018 tournament, he has done nothing but progress, both in his tennis and with his nerves. Even in his post-match interventions. That is why Tsitsipas is in the final. Because he is one of those up-and-coming players who promised to progress … and he has.
He has already jumped onto the RCTB-1899 courts twelve times. No, he hasn’t yet taken the trophy to Athens. But he has defeated important rivals such as Thiem, Carreño, Auger-Aliassime, Schwartzman, De Miñaur, Ramos or Munar. That is why he will be a very tough enemy in tomorrow’s final. That is why he won in Monte Carlo, just a week ago, with the Mediterranean close by.
This time he overcame the stylish and promising Sinner. At no time was the victory on the side of the Italian, who gave opportunities to a rival that was ready to attack. After a 6-3 double, 6-3 in 1 h 23 minutes, the Greek tennis player fulfilled his media obligations, and after will get his body ready to face his next rival. What every fan of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell knows for certain is that Tsitsipas was almost ignored by Nadal in the 2018 final is not the same player as he is today. He has grown. He has improved. He has more desire. His game is more complete. Tomorrow fans will be able to enjoy his entire repertoire again. Maybe enough, who knows, to take home the trophy deserving all the credit.
RAFA NADAL ONE STEP AWAY FROM HIS TWELFTH TITLE IN BARCELONA
The Majorcan advanced towards the final of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell comfortably beating Pablo Carreño 6-3 6-2. The players of the RCTB-1899 appeared on the center court with a head-to-head clearly in favor of the Balearic, with much expectation from the public and a clear sky that was covered for the Asturian at the same time that Rafa made the statement that he has come to Barcelona to lift the trophy for the twelfth time.
He came to the tournament with the intention of recovering feelings, with the humility that has characterized him since its inception, but once in the semi-finals, we have seen in his eyes that at this point his goal is to win again at a club that has seen him grow. From the beginning, he has given us points that made it clear that he is not the favourite only because of his ranking but because of the tennis he displayed throughout the match, without giving any options to his rival.
Carreño has had a great tournament, achieving his best result so far this season at this level of a tournament, overcoming very tough matches with a great attitude like the one we saw yesterday against Schwartzman. Despite building good points and not turning his back on the match at any time, it was not enough to stop the “King of the Clay” who was committed to set another record with his 451 win on his surface.
We are approaching the end of this new edition of the tournament and we will have a déjà vu of a final that was already lived in 2018, this time with a much more experienced Tsisipas willing to give more war than the previous time. Tomorrow we will see if Rafa is able to maintain the confidence that he has shown this afternoon on the court that bears his name and confirm that he is the true Barcelona champion, or if the Greek manages to turn the final round and be the first player to beat Nadal in the fight for the title.