In April, Rafael Nadal advanced to his twelfth final at the Barcelona Open after beating Pablo Carreño Busta 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 28 minutes. It was Nadal’s 65th victory in 69 Barcelona games, looking good on the pitch and preparing for the clash against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Rafa lost serve once and took four breaks to control the score and find himself in the first ATP final of the season. Rafa hit an ace in the first game to put his name on the scoreboard and forced Pablo’s forehand error in the next to take an early break and build the lead.
Carreño Busta missed another forehand in the third game, sending Rafa 3-0 up and having to raise his level if he wanted to challenge a great rival. He landed a cross backhand on the court in Game 4 to avoid a bagel before Nadal fired a service winner to hold him a few minutes later.
Rafa secured another break in the sixth game to get closer to the finish line before playing a loose service game and delivering a break to Carreño Busta. The younger Spaniard cut the deficit to 3-5 in game eight with one ace and created three break opportunities in the next that could have turned the score around.
Staying focused despite an obvious struggle at the time, Rafa saved them and closed the set on his second chance when Pablo added a backhand error. Driven by this momentum, Nadal secured a break early in the second set and took four straight points on serve in game two to confirm the lead and move closer to the finish line.
Schwartzman reflects on Nadal
In an interview with Argentinian outlet Filo News, Diego Schwartzman talked about the Big Three in tennis. He shared how he had to play with Djokovic, Federer, and Rafael Nadal a lot when he moved into the top 20 and 10 ranks.
Then, Schwartzman talks about Rafael Nadal. He praises Nadal’s dominance on clay- “On clay, it is almost impossible to follow the rhythm and dominance that he (Nadal) has,” he shares. “Rafa is the one who imposes the most respect on you when entering the field,” the 29-year-old shares.
“It is like you enter more defeated”. Moreover, Schwartzman even compares Nadal’s attitude as an opponent to that of Roger Federer. “Federer being so relaxed, sometimes he gives you a game,” he shares.
On the other hand, it is an entirely different story against El Nino. “You enter the Nadal match, and it seems that everything from the first point to the last point, is the last in his career.
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