The world No. 1 is gone, but arguably the two most in-form clay-courters in the game will be squaring off in the final of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell on Sunday. It will be Rafael Nadal vs. Dominic Thiem for the title after Thiem took down top-ranked Andy Murray in the semis.
The ninth-ranked Austrian had previously been 0-2 lifetime against Murray, but he now owns wins at the expense of both Murray and Nadal. The head-to-head series with the latter stands at 2-1 in favor of Nadal and all three of their previous encounters have come on clay. A 2013 French Open meeting went Nadal’s way via a 6-2, 6-2, 6-3 decision and they split a pair of 2016 showdowns; Thiem prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4) in the Buenos Aires semis before Nadal got the job done 7-5, 6-3 in Monte-Carlo.
Given the relative slumps of Murray and Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer’s current clay-court absence, and the way Nadal and Thiem are performing on clay, this is a potential preview of a Roland Garros semi or even final. Unsurprisingly, Nadal is perfect on the red stuff this season. The 14-time Grand Slam champion triumphed for a 10th time in Monte-Carlo last week and so far in Barcelona he has cruised to straight-set victories over Rogerio Dutra Silva, Kevin Anderson, Hyeon Chung, and Horacio Zeballos.
Thiem in 2017 has, for the most part, been somewhere in between his 2016 pre-Wimbledon and post-Wimbledon self. It is good enough to be No. 4 in the race to London even if he loses on Sunday and No. 3 if he wins. The 23-year-old is 23-9 for the season and 10-1 on clay, including a title in Rio de Janeiro and wins this week over Kyle Edmund, Dan Evans, Yuichi Sugita, and Murray.
“It’s not a surprise that Dominic is in the final,” Nadal commented. “He is one of the best in the world, and he loves clay. At the beginning of the tournament, he was already one of the main favorites to be in the final. He is a player with a lot of power. He imposes a lot on his shots, and if you let him be comfortable, it’s almost impossible to stop him.”
“To get two matches in a row against two of the best players ever is big for my game,” Thiem noted.
It is true that this is perfect French Open preparation for Thiem regardless of the outcome, and he is one of the few players who has the clay-court game that can beat Nadal even if Nadal plays well. But the No. 4 seed struggled to maintain his best level for more than a set against Murray–who faded in a rocky third set for both men–and doing so for at least two sets against Nadal is even tougher.
There are no secrets in this one: both players will look to dominate rallies with their forehands while pounding away at the other’s backhand. Thiem’s one-hander is more likely to break down first amidst the pressure of Nadal’s heavy topspin and lefty serve out wide.
Pick: Nadal in 3
[polldaddy poll=9735659]
Rafa bout to get the win
Rafa in full control.
Congratulations to Rafa!!
Rafa wins!
?
La Decima!
Yesssss! Genius! The King of Clay rules!
So proud of you, Rafa! ❤️❤️❤️
Vamoooosssss!
Vamos Rafa!
Total legend !
Yippeee. Order has been restored. Congratulations to Rafa.
Vaaaaaaaaaamoooooooooos Rafa, the 10-time Barcelona champion !!!!!!!!!!
? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?
10 RG in one month time
YAY Number 51 Vamos Rafa 😉 ….
Two down, one more 10th to go!
Vamos Rafa! We love you! ❤️??
Reunion 2017:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-rGiLoXkAAKbYo.jpg
?
Rafa gets his second La Decima!
The Barcelona Open website: “The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell has an unwritten tradition that makes the winners jump into the pool after the closing ceremony. The first ones who started this were the ball kids, but after Nadal´s first victory in 2005 this tradition transcended to the tennis players and no one has failed since.”
https://twitter.com/rctb1899/status/858718478647390209/video/1
🙂
Love, love, love it!!! Huge grats to Rafa on hiw 2nd La Decima!
Is it a coincidence that Rafa’s favorite tournaments are MY favorite tournaments? I’ve loved Barcelona since the first time I saw Rafa and DAveed chasing each other and squirting giant wine bottles.
Great you posted this. Was hoping for it to come up on TV but there must have been a delay with all the celebrations of his 10th win. Lovely shots of his Dad beaming with pride and wiping away tears of joy.
Edwina (AT 5:45 PM);
I post a couple of pictures of Rafa’s Dad:
¤ he is in tears:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-rBlb5XYAA97Rx.jpg
¤ he is happy:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C-rEfqNXoAU61va.jpg
Confidence.
#CHAMP10N
Confidence.
#CHAMP10N
Congrats king of clay!!!! ? ? #Barce10na
Well done Rafa! La Decima one after another. Go for a clean sweep of the clay titles including La Decima at the FO.
A well played match even though a bit of nerve and tension at the beginning. Im so glad to see Rafa thinking and problem solving his way to a win, and not in a grinding way. Vamos!
I thought that Rafa played a very smart, savvy match! He was thinking out there and using different tactics. Rafa used his experience and tennis i.q. to get the better of Thiem. I am happy that he played a top ten player who had the game to give be him a challenge.
The match turned when Rafa managed to get the break to give him the first set. In the section set, Thiem started going for more and missing. Rafa then took complete control. The fact that Rafa beat Thiem in 2 sets, dominating the second set, is impressive
This win tells me that Rafa is on his way. Two titles back-to-back and making history both times. Rafa will only get better as he moves on to Madrid, where he will face tougher competition. But I think he’s ready.
I’m also glad that Rafa is pulling away from Djoko in terms of titles won; from 69 to 67, he’s now 71 to 67. One more Masters title and he will equal Djoko’s 30, and another one more he will have one ahead of Djoko. Of course winning the FO again will push Rafa further ahead, and may even put Rafa in good position to retake no.1.
So Rafa, onwards and upwards.
My only hope is that he remains healthy. If that’s the case, great things can happen this year.
Same here.