Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell—Barcelona, Spain
Top seed Rafael Nadal won his 12th Barcelona Open title on Sunday in Barcelona, Spain, defeating No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7(6), 7-5. Needing three hours and 38 minutes to prevail, Nadal required three match and every bit of the fight that has seen him win 20 grand slams to upend his 22-year-old opponent. Strking two aces, winning 69 percent of his first serve points and saving 85 percent of his break points (11/13), Nadal now owns 87 career titles and improved to 7-2 against Tsitsipas in head-to-head meetings.
Tsitsipas, who entered the week on the heels of winning the Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo, has been in fine form all season. The Greek star also made the semifinals of the Australian Open and the finals in Acapulco.
Nadal will return to No. 2 in the world when Monday’s rankings are updated. Tsitsipas will remain at No. 5.
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Serbia Open—Belgrade, Serbia
No. 2 seed Matteo Berrettini notched his fourth career title on Sunday in Serbia, Belgrade, dismissing inform Russian Aslan Karatsev 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(0). In a match that featured two hard-hitting players from the baseline, it was Berrettini who hit nine aces, won 81 percent of his first serve points and played a spotless tiebreaker in the third set. Never playing each other on Tour before, it was evident from the onset of the match that the crowd would receive a competitive encounter.
Karatsev, who defeated world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, has been the breakout player on the ATP Tour this year. Reaching the semifinals of the Australian, and winning the title in Dubai, the 27-year-old will move up to No. 27 in the world on Monday.
Berrettini, who will remain No. 10 on Monday, previously made the semifinals of the US Open in 2019.
