One day after his win over Dominic Thiem, NextGen player Stefanos Tsitsipas upset 5th seed Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5 6-4 in the semifinals at the Barcelona Open and became the first Greek since Nicholas Kalogeropoulos in 1973 to reach an ATP final.
In the final Tsitsipas will face world number one Rafael Nadal who just registered his 400th win on clay, by dispatching David Goffin 6-4 6-0 in the semifinals. Only 3 players since 1973 have recorded more wins on clay than Rafa: Guillermo Vilas (659), Manuel Orantes (502) and Thomas Muster (422).
Photo credit: Banco Sadabell
Rafa Nadal, Dominic Thiem and Alexander Zverev on the men’s side, Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina and Kristina Mladenovic on the women’s side have dominated the clay court season; while world number ones Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber appeared in big trouble. Here’s our recap of who won what.
Men
Marrakech: Borna Coric
Runner-up in Marrakech last year, Borna Coric came back from the brink, saved 5 match points to overcome Philip Kohlschreiber and capture his maiden ATP title.
Monte Carlo: Rafael Nadal
Rafa‘s reign in Monte Carlo continues: he defeated fellow Spaniard Ramos-Vinolas, who stunned Andy Murray en route to his maiden Masters 1000 final. With that victory, Nadal became the first man in the Open Era to win 10 titles at a tournament, and the first to win 50 clay-court titless, surpassing Guillermo Vilas (49).
One week after his 10th Monte Carlo title, Rafael Nadal captured a 10th Barcelona title by beating Dominic Thiem in straight sets 6-4 6-1. Next tournament for Rafa: Madrid.
Enjoy a few pictures from the Barcelona final, credit: Banco Sabadell.
A week after his 10th Monte Carlo title, Rafael Nadal will face Dominic Thiem for a 10th Barcelona title.
Thiem upset world number one Andy Murray in 3 sets to reach his second final of 2017, after his victory in Rio de Janeiro in February. Rafa leads 2-1 in their head-to-head.
Rafael Nadal defeats Horacio Zeballos 6-3 6-4
The clay court season started well for Rafa as he won a 10th Monte Carlo title, a record 50th clay court title!
Here’s the outfit Rafa Nadal will be wearing in Barcelona, Madrid and Rome:
Rafa’s signature shoe, the NikeCourt Lunar Ballistec 1.5:
Nadal’s outfit is available online on nike.com
