Nadal will be looking to win his 13th title on the clay courts in Barcelona after first lifting the trophy in 2005
Rafael Nadal will play at the Barcelona Open in April, the tournament confirmed on Wednesday, as the Spanish tennis legend builds up to the French Open in Paris.
Tournament director David Ferrer said: “Having Rafa in Barcelona is very exciting for the tournament and the expectation will be high to know how far he can go.” [via firstpost.com]
Nadal has enjoyed a sensational start to the year after winning the Australian Open in January coming from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev.
That was the 35-year-old’s 21st grand slam title and moved him ahead of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic in the all-time list of male major champions.
Nadal also won the Mexican Open final last weekend having beaten newly-anointed world number one Medvedev in the semi-finals.
The Barcelona Open begins on April 16, just over a month before the start of the French Open in May.
Nadal will be looking to win a record-extending 14th title at Roland Garros after losing to Djokovic in last year’s semi-finals.
Rafael Nadal has now won 11 finals in a row
Rafael Nadal clinched his 91st tour title on Sunday by beating Cameron Norrie in the final of the Mexican Open.
In doing so, the Spaniard has now won a whopping 11 finals in a row on tour. Nadal last lost a final at 2019 Australian Open, where Novak Djokovic handed him a beatdown.
Since then, he has won the summit clash at the Italian Open, French Open, Canada Masters and US Open in 2019, the Mexican Open and French Open in 2020, the Barcelona Open and Italian Open in 2021 and the Melbourne Summer Set, Australian Open and Mexican Open this year.
The Spaniard previously held the record of 29 such titles with Jimmy Connors. Ivan Lendl is third on the list with 28 titles under his name.
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