It will not only be the No. 1 vs. No. 2 seed on Sunday in Barcelona, but it will also be the two men who have dominated this tournament to the tune of 10 titles in the last 11 years. Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori will battle for a familiar winner’s trophy.
Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers and for the second time this season when they meet again in the title match of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Sunday afternoon.
Nadal is dominating the head-to-head series 8-1, including 2-0 on clay. In one of those clay-court showdowns, however, Nishikori seemed to be cruising to the 2014 Madrid title but ended up retiring in the third set because of a back injury. Nadal had previously trounced Nishikori on the slow stuff via a 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 scoreline at the 2013 French Open. They most recently faced each other earlier this spring in Indian Wells, where the Spaniard cruised 6-4, 6-3.
It is not often that Nadal goes up against a two-time defending champion of a clay-court tournament, but that will be the case in this one. After Nadal captured eight Barcelona titles in the span of nine seasons, Nishikori lifted the trophy in both 2014 and 2015. The world No. 6 is one victory from doing the same following straight-set defeats of Thiemo De Bakker, Jeremy Chardy, Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Benoit Paire.
A resurgent Nadal will be No. 2 in the race to London on Monday and–as usually–he is looking especially impressive on clay. The top seed is coming off a much-needed title in Monte-Carlo, where Novak Djokovic lost early before Nadal took care of Andy Murray and Gael Monfils in the semis and final. Not looking back in Barcelona, Nadal punched his ticket to the championship match by beating Marcel Granollers, Albert Montanes, Fabio Fognini, and Philipp Kohlschreiber all in straight sets.
“Tomorrow I will play against one of the world’s best players and it will be complicated,” the world No. 5 assured. “I have to play a great match to win the final.”
The good news for Nadal is that it may not be as complicated as it could be on a fast hard court, such as the one on which Nishikori got the job done 6-2, 6-4 in last summer’s Montreal quarterfinals. Nishikori, who loves to take balls early, has a much easier time hitting through Nadal on a slicker surface. With his confidence regained and advantages in terms of both the surface and the crowd, Nadal should be able to hold off an in-form opponent.
Pick: Nadal in 3
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This is a tough match!
Vamos Rafa!
Rafa did well to break back. That DTL forehand winner is a thing of beauty!
Nishi playing very well, Rafa playing smart tennis!
Vamos Rafa!
Easy hold for Rafa!
PERFECT return of serve….nearly impossible to return! BP
The brilliant CC backhand set it up and there we gooooo BOOM inside in, followed by an easy forehand volley put away! There is the break! Rafaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
What defense and then that Inside-in forehand! WOAH
Rafa is feeling it now! Breaks!
Now hold your serve and this title is yours!
FABULOUS combo! body serve, boom inside out forehand!
Another tough rally, good defending , excellent backhand CC! Adv Rafa
Oh wow, amazing backhand DTL winner from Nishi
Did the sun get in his eyes?! jsut can’t finish the points on Adv
It would be such a pity if he loses serve here…had two opportunities to close it with ease
PHEWWWW! Finally!!! I want a 6-1 now… definitely achievable
One more break will surely seal it.
Vamos Rafa!
Now, one more break Rafa! Go for it! You can do it!
That tough hold should seal it for Rafa.
Go for another break Rafa!
I am so happy to see rafa playing like his. The results shall take care of themselves. Opponents need to dread the fearhand once more? Vaaamos
ok…rooting for 6-2 now lol
Rafa has to fight so hard to win these days. I’m sure the peak Rafa would beat this Nishi quite handily. Credit to Rafa though, despite not at his best he’s still able to fight hard to win or gives himself good chances to win.
An easy hold for Nishi is not what I wanted! Nishi not going to hand this over to Rafa.
Nishi has run out of ideas on how to handle this version of Rafa.
All Rafa has to do now his keep a cool head.