Rafael Nadal will begin his bid for a 12th Barcelona title when he takes the court against Ilya Ivashka during second-round action on Wednesday. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is fresh off a Masters 1000 triumph in Monte-Carlo, faces Jaume Munar.
(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (Q) Ilya Ivashka
In most clay-court seasons, Nadal already has a title under his belt heading into the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. This time around, however, the King of Clay is coming off a rare loss in Monte-Carlo–to Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. Now he will try to make amends at a tournament he has won 11 times. Nadal is an amazing 61-4 lifetime in Barcelona, where he has not triumphed since 2018 because he fell to Dominic Thiem in the 2019 semis before the event was cancelled in 2020.
Up first for the top seed on Wednesday is Ivashka, whom he has never faced. It has already been a productive stay in Barcelona for Ivashka, who qualified for the main draw with a pair of victories and then defeated Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 6-1 on Monday. The 111th-ranked also reached the Marbella quarterfinals two weeks ago, but it’s not like he has been or will ever be a consistent force on clay. Nadal should be inspired this week and will undoubtedly cruise through his opening match.
Pick: Nadal in 2 losing 5-7 games
(WC) Jaume Munar vs. (2) Stefanos Tsitsipas
Tsitsipas already knows a thing or two about facing Munar when he is not armed with a full tank of gas. Last fall, the Greek finished runner-up to Andrey Rublev in Hamburg and then began his French Open campaign against Munar a few days later. Tsitsipas dropped the first two sets but ended up prevailing in five, eventually parlaying that into a semifinal run. Now he is coming off a title at the Monte-Carlo Masters (ironically over none other than Rublev) and he will get right back in action in Barcelona three days later. The world No. 5 leads the head-to-head series 2-0, having also defeated Munar in four sets at the 2018 NextGen ATP Finals.
Munar got a wild card into the main draw and then ousted Thiago Monteiro 6-3, 7-5 on Monday. The 86th-ranked Spaniard just turned in back-to-back runner-up efforts on the red clay of Marbella, first in a Challenger and then at an ATP 250 (lost to Pablo Carreno Busta 6-4 in the third). This probably won’t be an easy opener for Tsitsipas, but the second seed should once again survive a close one.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 3
WWW?
Stay focused, remain confident and enjoy the game, Rafa!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EzfxwgYWYAcdevT?format=jpg
Munar is a quality opponent on clay.
Tsitsipas could be heading towards his first RG title.
I just saw live scores and Rafa lost the first set! Against Ivashka!
What the hell is going on?
I haven’t been watching tennis.But I know he lost to Rublev after playing terribly.
Losing to Rublev is one thing but this is getting silly.😠😠
U r very right amy!…It is silly!…Go kick Rafa’s a$$ amy!…This is ridiculous!
Did u see it mira?
I need to know what is going on..!
It’s ridiculous!
I didn’t c it amy!…only follow livescores too!..but i think he still traumatized by the loss to Rublev…
And we r traumatized by his perfomance!😁
If against Ivashka,he’s so nervous like this…God help us when he supposed to meet with other top players!…Who wants to hide behind the sofa with me,there’s still space!😄
Mira I read that his first serve % was low and I know he said his serve was a disaster against Rublev. Is he worried about ‘re-injuring his back? I think it may be playing on his mind.
But then a lot of things play on rafa’s mind don’t they?!😊😊
He is an amazing source of complexes and worries.
Mira I just read that Costa said they thought Rafa might start bad today as he is experiencing self-doubts after losing at MC.
For Pete’s sake!! This is clay!
His capacity for self-doubt and excessive respect for his opponent is borderline insane.
After MC loss,Rafa already said he had doubts amy ..and we all knew he came to Barcelona still full of it…What i don’t understand is WHY?Barcelona IS his playground…and CLAY!..He should flourished on it!
I am very curious to c how he will handle his problems for his next games amy!..Let the rough rollercoaster begin!
He has to play nishikori next ..think what will happen (:- then goffin .
Kei is but a shadow of his younger self, Sanju. And Goffin? These guys are not on Rafa’s level. Had Rafa played Ivashka before? Sometimes an unfamiliar opponent is tricky.
Don’t think Rafa had played Ivashka before; he’s mostly a challenger player. But Rafa’s game in the first set was MIA! He looked more like himself in the 2nd and 3rd sets. Let’s hope he can keep that up tomorrow!
Rafa looked pretty awful in the first set. First serve a disaster area, second not much better, lots of backhand errors, forehand pretty much MIA. As for dropshots and lobs, less said the better. Not sure he even tried any volleys! Movement not great. Lessee, anything else?
Only good news is he did win the match. He’s really rusty so more matches can only help. I hope!
When u listed so throughly like that,it pretty much sounds like 2015 again Ramara!😔
The question is how long?Let’s c!
2015? Perish the thought! Rafa looked much more like himself in the 2nd and 3rd sets, so let’s hope that lasts.