Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Spain

Men’s Final: [5] Rafael Nadal (ESP) vs. [9] Dominic Thiem (AUT

In their previous three meetings, all on clay, Nadal won two; thus, I expected Nadal to have a battle on his hands.  The emotional impact of going for his second tenth title at the same tournament was tremendous and the tension was evident in his first game when he faced a break point.  Yet he wanted the victory badly and elevated his game at the critical moment to avoid the break. Thiem was also emotionally impacted by the occasion, he was trying to derail the “king of clay” on home soil and prevent Nadal from making history again. The first set was competitive and very intense as both players released their tension by punishing the ball.  There were exquisite rallies and brilliant winners, sadly someone would have to crack first and it was Thiem.  The relentless pressure from Nadal was his undoing.

Once Nadal secured the first set it, he released what tension was left in his body and mind and played with more abandon in the second set.  Playing at the level required to beat Nadal on clay is draining physically and mentally and after his battle against Andy Murray the previous day, Thiem ran out of energy after losing the first set.  He was broken mentally and physically by the unrelenting attack of his opponent and he quickly lost the second set.  Nadal won 6-4, 6-1 and claimed his tenth title in Barcelona to make history once more.  He now has 51 titles on clay, he has won this title 10 times and it’s the second time this season (Monte Carlo champion last weekend) that he has won the same tournament 10 times.

Congratulations to Nadal, your ability on clay is amazing and we are so happy to see that you have regained that aura.

SOURCE OF IMAGE: Bing search (RafaelNadalfans)