‘He’s a Fighter’ – Rafael Nadal Reminisces His Iconic Match Against David Ferrer at the Barcelona Open

Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer had an intriguing tennis rivalry. Although Nadal dominated the matches between the two, their matches often went down to the wire. Of the 32 encounters between them, Nadal has gone on to win an astonishing 26 matches. However, Ferrer’s wins came in some big tournaments like the Australian Open and the US Open.

Further, one of their best encounters came in the finals of the Barcelona Open in 2012. The match had some eye-catching rallies between Spain’s two great players.

DIVE DEEPER: ‘Tennis Must Do All It Can to Stand With the People of Ukraine’ – Norway Sweden Finland and Iceland Back Wimbledon’s Decision to Ban Russian and Belarusian Athletes

Nadal went on to win the match 7-6 (1), 7-5 to capture his seventh Barcelona Open title on his home soil. Recently, he opened up on this classic match against his good friend.

Rafael Nadal recounts his Barcelona Open final against David Ferrer

The 21-time Grand Slam champion is in his native country to participate in the Madrid Open. Talking about his iconic match against Ferrer, he said, “Rafa Nadal here. Some of the best memories of the 2012 final of Barcelona Open against David Ferrer. Well, it’s a home tournament, always playing in Spain is super special. The tournament is played in my club in Spain.”

“Since the first time that I was able to play there have been always unique feelings playing in front of my people and after all the success that I had there is always very special to be back.” 

Opening up on his compatriot, Nadal said, “He’s a fighter. He is one of the players with higher intensity on the tour without a doubt. I think he was a very difficult player for everyone so that made him a very very solid player. And you know when you play against him that if you don’t play at your hundred percent, your chance is going to be not many.”

WATCH THIS STORY: The Greatest Comebacks in Tennis

Talking about the tournaments other than the Grand Slams, he said, “I always played every tournament at my 100 percent. I always thought that we can’t think only about the slams, of course. They are the most important events but Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid now, Hamburg before, Rome, they are part of the history of our sport.”

After a brief injury absence, Nadal is back on the tour. He will be looking to win his fourth title this season when he steps on the court next week in Madrid. He is the third seed at the tournament and has received a bye in the opening round. In the second round, he will take on the winner of the match between Miomir Kecmanovic and Alexander Bublik.