Rafael Nadal has played down on Stefanos Tsitsipas claim about him that he is the favorite to win Barcelona Open, asserting that his performance at the tournament is more about the experience.
After struggling with injury troubles for the past 15 months that resulte4d in him missing the whole 2023 clay-court season, the 22-time Grand Slam champion made is long awaited comeback on the surface of truth on Tuesday as he appeared opposite World No. 62 Fabio Cobolli to play his first match in 700 days.
It was a successful start on the red dirt as he posted a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win after some good plays against the 21-year-old Italian.
Nadal, a 12-time champion at Barcelona Open, improved his record in the Spanish city to 67-4 as he failed to secure a semifinal or better spot only three time in his 16 previous campaigns. Despite the lack of play time over the past year, some believe that 37-year-old is still favorite to win any title on clay, let alone Barcelona.
Tsitsipas, who clinched the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday is among those who do not dare to bid against the King of Clay: “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.
“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.”
But Nadal dismissed the idea of being labelled favorite on the surface, although he does acknowledge that his record at the tournament makes it easy to come up with such predictions.
“At the moment it seems stupid to me, realistically. He knows that’s not the case, but I understand that out of respect for what I’ve done at this tournament why he is saying that,” said the World No. 644.
“As of today everybody knows that I’m not the favourite to try to win a tournament. There is a history behind that I guess that weighs, but today I’m not favourite. I don’t know if I was in this first match, and I know that tomorrow I’m not favourite, but it doesn’t matter either. For me it’s an experience, a test.”