“Has no mercy for anyone”: Stefanos Tsitsipas recalls ‘ruthless’ Rafael Nadal during Barcelona Open fixture in 2018

Greece’s tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas has revealed how ‘ruthless’ Rafael Nadal was when they met in the 2018 Barcelona Open. The 37-year-old is often regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the Open era, having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles.

Fourteen of those major victories came while playing at the Roland Garros which is why he is also known as the ‘King of Clay’. Tsitsipas was recently quoted in a report where he expressed how difficult it was to face the former world number on clay back in 2018 when they met in the Barcelona Open where the Spaniard won with a score of 6-1, 6-2.

“He is ruthless, has no mercy for anyone,” said Tsitsipas while talking about that match. “I felt that for the first time when I played him in Barcelona and he was completely ruthless. I remember his energy after the coin toss. It just felt like the stadium belongs to him and I haven’t felt that with a lot of tennis players that I’ve played and it’s really intimidating in a way. As a youngster, you’re not used to this feeling when you’re facing someone. So it was definitely something that I still carry with me mentally. I remember that feeling.”