Nadal Saves M.P., Makes It A Dozen In Barcelona
Rafael Nadal saved one championship point on Sunday to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-5 and collect a record-extending 12th Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell trophy.
The top seed was one point from defeat at 4-5, 30/40 in the decider and he carried the momentum from that moment to win three straight games and overcome the Monte-Carlo champion in the longest ATP Tour match of the year (3h38m). This is the second tournament where Nadal has captured 12 or more titles. The 13-time Roland Garros champion, who failed to convert two championship points at 5-4 in the second set, will return to No. 2 in the FedEx ATP Rankings on Monday.
Rafael Nadal – Most Titles By Tournament
| Rank | Event | Titles |
| 1 | Roland Garros | 13 |
| 2 | Barcelona | 12 |
| 3 | Monte-Carlo | 11 |
| 4 | Rome | 9 |
| T5 | Madrid | 5 (4 Clay, 1 Hard) |
| Canada | 5 | |
For the first time, Nadal has lifted the Barcelona title after dropping more than one set (3). The 34-year-old, who also needed three sets in his opening two matches, raised his game as the tournament progressed and fought hard to get past Tsitsipas, who entered his second Barcelona final (0-2) with a 9-0 match record (17-0 sets) on clay in 2021.
The five-time year-end World No. 1 gained revenge for his loss to the Greek in the Australian Open quarter-finals this February. On that occasion, Tsitsipas joined Fabio Fognini and Roger Federer as only the third man to beat Nadal from two sets down.
Nadal extends his ATP Head2Head advantage against Tsitsipas to 7-2. The 20-time Grand Slam champion also beat Tsitsipas in the 2018 final in Barcelona, where Tsitsipas made his debut in an ATP Tour championship match. This was only the third final meeting between Top 5 players in tournament history.
Top 5 Barcelona Final Meetings
| Year | Champion | Runner-Up |
| 1973 | Ilie Nastase (No. 1) | Manuel Orantes (No. 3) |
| 2008 | Rafael Nadal (No. 2) | David Ferrer (No. 5) |
| 2021 | Rafael Nadal (No. 3) | Stefanos Tsitsipas (No. 5) |
Nadal also improved his unbeaten record to 12-0 in Barcelona finals. The Mallorcan now owns an Open Era record 61 tour-level trophies on clay, placing him 12 titles clear of second-placed Guillermo Vilas (49).
Nadal found himself under consistent pressure on serve in the first set with Tsitsipas stepping inside the baseline to take short balls early and force his opponent into defensive positions. The top seed was able to find big serves and powerful forehands under pressure to save five of the six break points he faced and he won four consecutive games from 2-4 to become the first player to take a set off Tsitsipas this year on clay.
Nadal once again recovered from a break down in the second set and earned two championship points on Tsitsipas’ serve at 5-4. The 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion charged the net to stay alive and rallied from 2/4 in the tie-break to force a decider. Tsitsipas defended well in the tie-break, introduced drop shots to break up play and benefitted from a Nadal double fault at 6/6 to prolong his hopes of a maiden Barcelona trophy.
In a tight third set, Nadal was forced to save the first break point — a championship point — at 4-5. The Spaniard clipped the net with a defensive backhand early in the rally and he drove a forehand up the line to remain in contention. Nadal piled the pressure on his opponent in the next game and extracted back-to-back errors with depth on his returns. Nadal clinched the title on his third championship point when Tsitsipas narrowly missed the target on his forehand. Nadal fell to the clay and roared in celebration.
Tsitsipas, who leads the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, was aiming to lift his maiden ATP 500 trophy. The 22-year-old claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title last week at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and tied Andrey Rublev’s Tour-leading mark of 26 wins this season by reaching the Barcelona championship match.