No pressure Rafa: Stefanos Tsitsipas says Rafael Nadal could make final of Barcelona Open on mooted return to actions

Greece tennis star Stefanos Tsitsipas believes that former world number one Rafael Nadal will start the Barcelona Open as a firm favourite. The 37-year-old is often regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category, having won as many as 22 Grand Slam titles. Fourteen of those major victories came while playing at the Roland Garros and it is because of this reason he is also renowned as the ‘King of Clay’.

Nadal has recently returned to action after spending nearly a year off the court because of a knee injury but that has not gone as per the plan. The legendary tennis star has been out of action ever since taking part in the Brisbane Internation. In between, he missed the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami Open and the Monte-Carlo Masters. Tsitsipas, who recently lifted the title in Monaco after beating Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final, backed Nadal to lift the title once again in the upcoming Barcelona Open.

“Well, I would say that Rafa, 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 favourite surfaces, which is a clay court,” said Tsitsipas. “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.

“What he does have is this competitiveness and this fierce tennis when he gets into the momentum that sometimes feels like on the outside perspective like unstoppable. On court, things feel different, because you get the feeling of his ball. When you’re watching, you just get a visual sensation, but I have all six sensations enabled and activated when I have to face him. I think he’s the ultimate challenge on clay.

“Whether he’s playing now at let’s say later stages of his career or the ones before, I think what he has now that he didn’t before is experience, and he for sure knows ways to win points and to prevail in more economy mode than he was before.”