BARCELONA, April 29, 2018
Rafael Nadal claimed his 11th title at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The World No. 1 beat #NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who appeared his first final on the ATP World Tour, 6-2, 6-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Nadal saved all three break points he faced, converting five of his own to prevail after one hour and 18 minutes.
The King of Clay reigns in Barcelona!@RafaelNadal captures an 11th Barcelona Open title, defeating Tsitsipas 6-2 6-1.#bcnopenbs pic.twitter.com/qaOSjOSFi5
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 29. April 2018
“I’m very happy for the victory against a very difficult opponent,” said Nadal, who is up to 46 consecutive sets won on clay, extending his Open Era record on the surface. “Tsitsipas has an amazing future. It was a great final for me and the 11th title here means a lot. I enjoyed the whole week and had great support from the crowd.
“It’s very difficult to describe how to win 11 titles at one tournament. To win 11 Monte-Carlos and 11 Barcelonas is something I couldn’t imagine doing. I’m just enjoying every week and the fact I’m playing in a tournament that I enjoy so much means a lot to me.”
Here’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for…@RafaelNadal #bcnopenbs pic.twitter.com/9Fx8QBrmZj
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 29. April 2018
“Congratulations to Rafa. He didn’t give me any chance to let me rise my level. It was tougher than I thought,” Tsitsipas had to admit. “I will definitely come back to Barcelona next year. I had a great week, I have fallen in love with Barcelona. And the tournament is fantastic.”
Earlier in the day, Feliciano López and Marc López clinched the doubles title. The Spanish duo defeated Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi of Pakistan and Jean-Julien Rojer from the Netherlands 7-6, 6-4. The final lasted one hour and 52 minutes.
