Rafael Nadal captured his ninth title at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell by defeating two-time defending champion Kei Nishikori 6-3, 7-5 on Sunday. Nadal and Nishikori, who have combined to win 11 of the last 12 Barcelona titles, battled in a high-quality final for two hours and four minutes.
The fifth-ranked Spaniard continued to have trouble consolidating service breaks, a problem that has plagued him throughout the 2016 campaign. Nadal gave back breaks in each of the two sets against Nishikori, but he was able to recover on both occasions. The top seed earned decisive scalps of the Nishikori serve at 5-4 in the opening set and 6-5 in the second.
“It was a very close match,” Nadal commented. “There were a lot of chances for both of us, but I think I [was] solid. When you play against players with such a high level, the match is often decided by a few moments. So I feel happy that I handled all these important moments well mentally.
“I was playing against the No. 6 player in the world and, if you don’t play at your best, you aren’t going to win. I served well and that allowed me to play better. In the second set I missed several chances and at the end it was very close, but I stayed mentally strong.”
Nadal already owned the Open Era record for most career titles at one event (the French Open and the Monte-Carlo Masters). Now he has accomplished that feat at three different tournaments.
Nishikori drop-shot/lob combination:
Nadal wins long rally with drop-shot:
Highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqdP64rrcIA
It was beautiful to see how well Rafa held up in this high pressure match. Major major congrats on the 9th, and on being so much stronger in his mind than he has been in a while. Here is to the 10th of at least one of the three!
I don’t remember off hand how many Rome titles Rafa has, is it 8?
7 in Rome
Next: 8th in Rome!
Madrid honestly I do not care for…it’s only that Rafa defending final points there…
The ATP Staff confirms: “Rafael Nadal draws level with Guillermo Vilas on the Open Era list after the Barcelona Open win! ”
https://twitter.com/ATPWorldTour/status/724365487279362048
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As I said before the match, the Nishikori who outplayed Rafa in Madrid 2 years ago his not appeared since. Thumbs up to me. 😎
Well done to Rafa for renewing his winning days!
I don’t think it’s about Nishi at all. In clay it’s always going to be on rafa’s racket now that he is out of his slump.
Nishi has the game to challenge Rafa because of how early he takes the ball. He takes time away from Rafa. Nishi has worked hard to improve all aspects of his game. That’s why Nishi was able to give Rafa such a tough match at Madrid.
Rafa’s respect for his opponents has always impressed me. He knows that Nishi has the game to give him a match. What really makes me feel good, is that both guys played well in the final. Rafa outplayed a worthy opponent.
That makes this even more satisfying.
Agreed. Its a very satisfying win. Rafa had beaten all the tough opponents he had faced so far – Thiem, Stan, Murray, Monfils and Nishi. There’s only Djoko, the final hurdle left.
Seriously, apart from 2015, I really dont see why Djoko is a bigger favorite than Rafa on clay. Djoko beat Rafa twice on clay in 2011; Rafa beat him thrice in 2012 including at the FO; Djoko beat Rafa at MC in 2013 and Rome 2014 but both years Rafa beat Djoko at the FO.
Rafa is playing well now, the way he handled Nishi, if he can produce something like this and gets more 1st serves in, I think his FH and BH are good enough to counter Djoko’s attack from both wings. The important thing is still Rafa staying calm during the match and think his way out of any situations.
In terms of quality of his shots from both wings, he is ready to take on Djokovic. What he is needs to work on is steadiness. If he plays Novak tomorrow, he is more likely to lose… his lapses and bad misses on game points/break points made life tough for him against Nishi and Fog.
Rafa’s serve is improving and he will be able to make it good enough by the time he plays RG….it may well be ready in madrid/Rome too.
Nishi is a tough match up for Rafa… Rafa will only beat a red-hot Nishi in straight sets if the Spaniard is playing really well. We can take a lot of comfort in that.
What Nishi lacks in comparison to Novak is intensity and the ability to counter punch ridiciloudly well from the backhand side… Nishi is so so fast and so is Fog and making Rafa play the extra ball did earn them some points against Rafa.
THe best thing is that these things are not a big concern at all….Rafa will take care of these little inconistencies.
Remember Rafa destroyed Ferrer 6-0 6-2 in Acapulco Final in 2013 and then lost in 2 sets to Novak in MC final… he was not able to play at the same level (eps his backhand) and Novak just pressed him harder than any other opponent had prior to that match.
Rafa’s mental toughness has been AMAZING. He will be ready for any battle but when you come up against a man who has beaten you so much lately, the mentality can get affected and best of three sets are quick…this is why they might favor Novak a bit more.
Really interested in seeing how rafa navigates his way through the draw in Madrid. If he can improve on those minor issues, there is no reason why he can’t beat Novak even in Madrid/Rome , let alone RG! After all, he also had set point in IW!
Good runs in Rome and Madrid will make Rafa the top favourite for RG…
but it’s easier to produce the quality you are talking about against players not named Djokovic….
Vesely didn’t hesitate.
Novak played like crap in that match. Vesely was just able to keep it together and play well enough. Novak doesn’t play like crap against Rafa. He has a significant mental advantage now with this latest string of consecutive wins without even dropping a set.
That analogy doesn’t apply to Rafa and Novak. It was a one-off and I expect Novak to come out a lot sharper and ready in Madrid.
Rafa cannot just hope that Novak will play poorly. Rafa has to bring his game and have the mental belief and strength. He is getting there, but as vr said he cannot afford to give back breaks of serve the way he did with Nishi. That made the match much tougher for him and playing Novak it would spell doom. Giving back a break of serve against Novak will only exponentially increase his confidence, which is already strong when playing Rafa.
There are a lot of good things happening with Rafa now. But he’s not there yet. Madrid and Rome should give him additional match play and allow him to fine tune his game.
That was what VR said Ricky.
as it’s easier to produce the quality you are talking about against players not named Nadal without a mental problema.
@Ricky, you are right. That is what makes Djokovic the ultimate challenge for him… Would be rather surprising if rafa comes out against Novak and shows no hesitation. For now, Novak’s the clear favourite and it is the case of until proven otherwise. However, Rafa’s been closing the gap with every passing match since beginning of MC.
Rafa not only lost to Novak prior to RG 2014, but also to Ferrer and ALMAGRO! Even then, when he found his best tennis in RG, he rolled over Novak in the final. The situation is different this time and only time will tell.
@Hawkeye, thanks mate! #HawkeyeGetsIt
Nice realistic take VR, and balanced too!
Vamos to you.
Rafa had some knee issues after IW2013 hence he skipped Miami. If I’m not wrong he had his PRP treatment after IW that year.
Both Rafa and Djoko didnt play well in the early rounds at MC that year but Djoko came out all guns blazing in the final against Rafa. Djoko had gone up 5-0 quickly in the first set before Rafa gave chase to lose it 6-2. The second set was closer and Djoko won it 7-5.
Djoko always plays aggressively vs Rafa because he knows he has to dictate play and keeps Rafa on the defensive. He knows the aggressive Rafa is very hard to beat so he’ll try every way to stop or prevent Rafa from playing aggressive tennis.
Rafa OTOH always starts slow and takes time to find his rhythm so he’s at a losing end in BO3 and has to give chase so often. In BO5 Rafa has the upperhand as he has time to find his rhythm and can then sustain his high level through a match better than most of his opponents.
Rafa did play aggressive tennis from the get go at Rome 2014 final and won the first set but couldnt sustain it as he said his legs couldnt move well( after all those long matches he played before getting to the final).
Djoko hasnt produced his top level tennis on clay and so lost to Vesely. We have to see whether Djoko can still produce top form tennis on clay this year.
Agreed with the point regarding the difference in Best of three and best of five sets matches b/w Rafa and Djokovic. That’s exactly what I was saying too…
Rome 2014 final, rafa had a decent start but Djokovic was not on full cylinders in that set. I remember I had a bad feeling that if Novak starts playing better Rafa might get in troube. Djokovic dominated from then on…. Yes, Rafa ran out of steam in set 3 but to me the main reason he lost was that he could not to enough damage with his forehand. He was hardly hitting any forehand winners, and Djokovic was thumping winner after winner in sets 2 and 3… I remmeber Rafa had like 14-15 winners and Djokovic like 40-45 !!! That was too big a difference.
Compare this with the RG 2014 final and Rafa’ forehand crushed Djokovic. Never have I seen a forehand DTL doing so much damage as it did in that match. It had such a big impact that Novak specifically mentioned rafa’s forehand DOWN THE LINE in the press conference and said he had no answers today!
How amazing was that? have you even seen a player talk about one particular shot of his opponent? I never have! You might hear Nadal and Federer saying Novak’s backhand was too good but they’ll never say his backhand DTL or something.. the fact that Novak pointed to one type of forehand said it all! Unplayable in that match. It was sick…
Then the question is: why Rafa was crushing that FH DTL so well during the FO final yet couldnt do that in the Rome final?? What’s the reason behind that?
It may be that (like what Rafa said it himself), he couldnt move his legs, so his timing was off hence wasnt able to hit his FH well. I do remember Rafa said after that Rome final that he knew what to do to beat Djoko, its just that he couldnt execute it in that Rome final.
Luckystar (AT 8:33 PM),
Rafa skipped the 2013 Miami because he was limping after the IW final (during the trophy ceremony) and his doctor(s) told him to go home. He indeed visited his knee doctor Mikel Sanchez in Spain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeEYtDXcvSs
As for PRP treatments, Rafa said it helped him recover from knee tendinitis in 2010, but didn’t help recover from Hoffa’s desease in 2012/2013. That’s why he underwent stem cell treatment at the end of 2013.
And yeah, let’s not assume that Djokovic will play his best tennis on clay. Let him actually do that first and then we will do the talking…