The final between Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas was the epilogue of a tournament in which precisely the longest match was the final, which lasted until 3 hours and 38 minutes. The shortest contest was the one between Ilya Ivashka and Tallon Griekspoor in the first round, which only lasted 57 minutes. Tsitsipas played 106 games in total, spending 9 hours and 5 minutes on the court while Nadal fought to win 118 games in 11 hours and 19 minutes.

The singles draw was finally contested by 48 players (including six from the qualifying, four wildcards, and lucky loser to replace the injured Casper Ruud at the last minute). In the doubles draw, 16 teams participated (two wildcards and one from the qualifying). Adding both competitions, but subtracting the tennis players who have taken part in both draws, there were a total of 70 players who have played the main draws of the tournament.

The tennis players came from all over the globe, with a total representation of twenty countries. France with eight tennis players and Italy with four are the countries with the most representatives, behind the eleven Spanish players. Among other nations were players from Georgia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Japan, Brazil, Chile, India, the United States, Canada, Finland, Norway or Denmark. The player with a more distant origin was Jordan Thompson, born 26 years ago in Sydney, 17,100 kilometers from the RCTB-1899.

Seven of the eight quarter-finalists were seeded at the tournament. And the top four favourites reached the semi-finals of the competition.

In the singles draw, 47 games were played, with only two matches not completed (Goffin-Norrie and Fognini-Zapata). 30 were resolved in two sets and on 17 occasions the matches went to three sets. There were 13 tie breaks. On eight occasions a player lost a set to zero games on the scoreboard. In total 1,056 games were played on the RCTB-1899 courts.

Nothing to object to the attempted feat carried out by the Greek tennis player. It is not easy to beat Rafa on clay, or in his. Twelve finals, twelve trophies. For the tennis player born in Athens, it was the second time that he stepped on the court of the RCTB-1899 on the last day. But this time he also could not stop the king.

Tsitsipas is just climbing. There are those who want him to progress faster, to lift the trophy at every tournament, to take Djokovic’s place, to push Nadal aside, and to bury Federer. But if the pandemic has taught this fast-consuming society anything, it is that there are things that are better cooked over low heat. That is why the Greek recipe may be little more than an appetizer for some. But he is in the direction of ascending at all levels. Better shots, more determination, a better strategy and knowing how to be on the court, like some of the “older ones” that he for sure idolized as a child. He doesn’t rush and plays decisive balls as if his life didn’t depend on it. Like those tightrope walkers who manage to get to the other side without falling and without a net.

The Greek already knows what it is to win outdoor tournaments and also indoors. ATP 250, 500, 1000 tournaments and a whole Masters Cup to which only the best eight of the year classify for. He also knows what it is to defeat Rafa, Djokovic and Federer. And, established in the top ten, he promises to continue great evenings, great comebacks, great feats. But he will have to wait and try to defeat the best player of the RCTB-1899 in his own house in future editions. Because beating a player who has won 50 of 56 finals played, adding Monte Carlo, Barcelona, ​​Roland Garros, Madrid and Rome, will always be a difficult peak to reach.

This time Nadal showed the tennis, the spectacle that all spectators expected and deserved. Even with the tense moments that happen in the best battles. Like those movies in which the viewer does not know, until the end, how it is going to end. The problem for many of those who see him on the other side of a clay court is that the director of that film is usually Nadal himself. And he is the one who dictates the ending. Many will have left the RCTB-1899 facilities in distress because he has to wait a whole year to see him again. But there is consolation. Today’s match will remain in their minds for a very long time. Another of those amazing epic battles, and yes Rafa did it again.

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.

Feliciano López walked on court elegant, calm, and serene. With the feeling of having always given the best in each of the 20 editions in which he has participated, Feliciano López has received a more than deserved tribute from his club, the RCTB-1899, a facility that welcomed him here for the first time at just 13 years old.

The president of the RCTB-1899, Jordi Cambra and the director of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, David Ferrer, have given him a framed photo collection of some of the best episodes lived by the man from Toledo on the Barcelona clay. “I have experienced many beautiful things here, it is true that time flies by since I played my first tournament when I was 17 years old” said the player, somewhat moved to see how the stands applauded him again. “I hope to continue playing it for many more years” he confessed on the court. Indeed, a very nice dream. One of those that the best fans want to see fulfilled if possible.

TSITSIPAS AND RUBLEV DON’T SLOW DOWN

They disputed the Monte Carlo final. They enjoy a sweet moment. The Greek already knows what it is to play a final at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell and the Russian knows every corner of the RCTB-1899 because it has been his club for four years. And both want Rafa Nadal’s reign in Barcelona to falter to lift the dream trophy next Sunday. Tennis, quality and enthusiasm have plenty.

If in his debut he got rid of Jaume Munar with dominance, Tsitsipas this time had to work a bit harder to reach the quarterfinals, in which Félix Auger-Aliassime awaits him. The Greek tennis player defeated Alex de Miñaur in two sets and no point in the match did it seem that victory could slip out of his hands. Should he be truthful to his second seed position, in the final Tsitsipas could see Rafa Nadal on the other side of the net. The first time they saw each other was precisely in the final of the tournament and Nadal took the victory. The last time they faced each other, it was not on clay. And the one who ended up smiling was the Greek tennis player.

Rublev’s ticket to his quarter-final match was more expensive than Tsitsipas’s. The Russian tennis player has faced another club player such as Albert Ramos and the match lasted two and a half hours. There was a lot of equality and Ramos took a set off the world number seven, in part because of Rublev’s uncontrolled nerves during the tie break in the second set. And that stat says almost everything. The victory over Ramos was the 26th of the season.

On paper, they promise great moments for spectators. And the whole circuit knows the danger they entail. Being young does not mean that they are not hungry or ready to triumph.

Atesora buenos resultados y títulos tanto en tierra batida como en pista dura. Es uno de los grandes valores del tenis español actual y en el RCTB-1899, su club, es muy apreciado. Tras lograr el trofeo en Marbella la semana pasada, Pablo Carreño ya está en octavos de final tras imponerse con calidad a Jordan Thompson, el tenista australiano que ha llamado la atención a más de un espectador por su bigote, algo poco habitual en el planeta tenístico.

Quien disputará a Carreño un lugar en los cuartos de final es Bernabé Zapata, que no olvidará su primera participación en el torneo. Después de superar la fase previa, Zapata ya lleva dos victorias, primero ante Kuznetsov y hoy ante Fognini, que fue descalificado en el segundo set por un abuso verbal. Zapata, que se había impuesto en la primera manga por un contundente 6-0, ya ha obtenido una importantísima cosecha de puntos con la que dejará de ser, por méritos propios, el 147º tenista del mundo.

Otro de los grandes encuentros vividos en la pista Manolo Santana ha sido el que ha enfrentado a Nishikori y Garín. El japonés impuso finalmente su mayor tesón y experiencia ante el aguerrido tenista chileno, que pertenece al RCTB-1899 y que está llamado a hacer grandes cosas en el futuro. Nishikori, después de dos duras rondas que se alargaron hasta los tres sets, tendrá como próximo rival a Rafa Nadal.

Stefanos Tsitsipas arrives in Barcelona with confidence after conquering this Sunday in Monte Carlo his first Masters 1000 and with the hope of reaching the final again here in Barcelona, the one he played against Rafa Nadal in 2018, but this time lifting the trophy. He explains that “my first final here was the beginning of my journey on the ATP circuit. Playing against Rafa was not easy, I think it was the first I played against him, but I learned a lot”.

Three years have passed since that meeting, in which we discovered a young man of just 19 years old facing the one who has been proclaimed champion of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell the most times, but little remains of that young boy. He has evolved a lot since then, consolidating himself at the top of the circuit, and presenting himself as the second favorite in this edition.

Tomorrow he will make his debut against another of the youngsters on the circuit, Jaume Munar, a player for the RCTB-1899 who will fight to take advantage of playing at home. Regarding the tournament, he confirms that “it’s a fantastic draw with great players, I really like being in Barcelona. I have always liked her, and although I have only been here a few times, I feel like I know this place”.

Stefanos is coming off a great winning streak, one that has left him with a very good feeling and motivated and capable of facing any rival. He expresses his desire to continue in the same form as the last weeks and even hopes to give more good tennis than we have seen so far, promising to fulfill the expectations placed on a player with his talent.