Stefanos Tsitsipas makes bold Rafael Nadal prediction ahead of his Barcelona comeback
Stefanos Tsitsipas has set the bar of expectation for Rafael Nadal as high as it can be ahead of his return to action in Barcelona.
Tsitsipas brushed aside Casper Ruud to claim his third Monte-Carlo Masters title in four years, as the Greek star took just an hour and 37 minutes to see off his Norwegian opponent 6-1 6-4 on Court Rainier III.
Now he will make the short trip to Barcelona, where he will look to continue his momentum in a tournament that will see the return of 22-time Grand Slam champion Nadal.
Nadal refused to commit entirely during Saturday’s draw ceremony as to whether he would play or not, but he now knows he will face Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday if he is fit.
Rising star Cobolli is currently just one spot off his career-high ranking of 62nd, with the 21-year-old Italian holding a 9-8 win-loss record for 2024.
Tsitsipas is in the same half of the draw as the ultimate clay court champion and even though Nadal has not played a competitive match since January and missed virtually all of 2023 due to injury, the Greek star is backing the Spaniard to shine on a clay court once again.
“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.”
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Tsitsipas also gave his verdict on the clay court prospects of world No 2 Jannik Sinner, who he beat in the semi-finals on his way to the title n Monte Carlo.
“He is a very good tennis player in all surfaces. I think he has the game to play everywhere well,” added Tsitsipas.
“The last time that we played that was here, I see his level in a much different level than the last times that I think I played him in Rome, twice in Rome, actually, on clay.
“I wouldn’t count the hard courts because these are different, but I’m only comparing against a particular surface.
“So since the last two times that we played each other in those instances, he’s much better player now than he was back then. And I saw it the other day, he was pushing me to my limits, and I had to reach a level of physicality that I haven’t felt myself before in a long time.
“It was very small margins that played an important role in the development of that match. I do believe he’s one of the favourites during the entire clay court swing.”
The good news for Tsitsipas and his army of admirers is he will also be spoken about as a contender for the big clay court events on the horizon over the next few weeks, with his form in Monte Carlo suggesting the new world No 7 will be a player to watch heading into the French Open at Roland Garros.
