“Not in my best dreams I would have imagined such a record.” – Nadal

After winning his 11th Monte Carlo Masters earlier this month, Rafael Nadal took the momentum to win his 11th Barcelona Open as well. He defeated the Greek teenager, Stefano Tsitsipas 6-2, 6-1 to take the victory. With yet another dominant performance, Nadal takes his tally to 46 sets undefeated in clay. Before this, he won his 400th match on the clay court to reach his final.

Speaking post the match, Nadal said,

“The only bad thing is that I get old,” 

“It’s exciting for me.

“Not in my best dreams I would have imagined such a record.”

He heaped praises upon his opponent and congratulated him for the tournament he has had.

“First of all I would like to say thank you to Stefan,”  he said.

“You had an amazing tournament.

“I think you have a fantastic future and I wish you all the best. You are going to have great success in this sport.”

The youngster, Stefan spoke of what it was like to play against Nadal in the final in Barcelona.

“It has been impossible for me to stop Nadal, I’ve tried but I could not, it’s been a great lesson,” he said.

“In spite of everything I am happy to have played my first final in a city like Barcelona, ​​that I love and have felt the support of the public of the tournament.

“It has been an indescribable feeling and maybe that has motivated me a lot, but I have not achieved it.

Despite coming from a hip injury sustained during the Australian Open, Nadal’s dominance has been spectacular. Having won two titles, there has only been one match this season where he’s lost more than 4 games in a set.

This was Nadal’s 55th Title on clay and 77th overall. He’ll next be seen defending his title at the Madrid Masters which starts from 7th May. Nadal has won 5 titles there and will be looking to achieve his 6th one as well. Defending his crown at the Madrid Masters is also critical for Nadal to stay ahead of Roger Federer in the fight for world number 1.