‘Monte Carlo loss is the past,’ Rafael Nadal sets his sight on winning the Barcelona Open
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Rafael Nadal returns to Barcelona this week, in order to claim his record 12th title. The Spaniard suffered a disappointing loss in the quarterfinals of the Monte Carlo Masters, where he lost to Andrey Rublev in three sets. It was the first tournament, Rafael Nadal had played in after his Australian Open quarterfinal exit.
The 20-time grand slam champion has enjoyed tremendous success in Barcelona, winning the title on 11 occasions. He won the title in 2018, after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets in the final. However, he was defeated in the semifinals in 2019 by Dominic Thiem.
The tournament was canceled last year owing to the covid-19 pandemic. The Spaniard is the top seed at this year’s Barcelona Open, and will hope to capture his first title on clay this season.
Nadal wants to win the Barcelona Open for the 12th time
Ahead of his first match, Nadal spoke about his QF loss to Rublev. He said that what happened at Monte Carlo is now the past and he is now looking forward to play and win in Barcelona.
He said: “Monte Carlo loss is the past. You put it aside. The match against Rublev was strange, it went bad. Now we are in Barcelona and I want to win.”
The Spaniard is the top seed at the tournament and will play his second round match on Wednesday against World No.111 Ilya Ivashka.
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