BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal saved a championship point to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7 (6-8), 7-5 on Sunday and claim a 12th Barcelona Open title in the ATP’s longest match of 2021.

The Spaniard secured his first title of the year and 87th of his career, denying Tsitsipas back-to-back triumphs following his maiden Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo last week.

Nadal avenged his Australian Open quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas and will return to second in the ATP rankings on Monday by climbing back above Daniil Medvedev after his marathon 3-hour 38-minute win.

“It means a lot for me to play the final here and win,” said Nadal. “I improved my level during the week and this trophy means a lot.”

Nadal redeemed himself after a surprise quarter-final exit in Monte Carlo, but the three sets dropped en route to the title represented the most in any of his wins here.

“It’s an everyday job, accepting the challenge, staying humble when sometimes you don’t play as well and you have to fight to find solutions every day.”

No man has won more matches this year than Tsitsipas [26] but the 22-year-old has lost all seven finals at the ATP 500 level.

“Rafa, bravo. How many is that, 28? 28 Barcelona titles is not bad,” joked Tsitsipas.

“I’m really jealous. But you’ve earned it. You’re one of the biggest competitors in our sport, I’m sure you know that.”

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2021