Rafael Nadal saved a championship point to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7, 7-5 and claim a 12th Barcelona Open title in the ATP’s longest match of 2021.
The Spaniard secured his first title of the year and 87th of his career, denying Tsitsipas back-to-back triumphs following his maiden Masters 1000 title at Monte Carlo last week.
Nadal avenged his Australian Open quarter-final loss to Tsitsipas and will return to second in the ATP rankings today by climbing back above Daniil Medvedev after his marathon 3-hour 38-minute win.
No man has won more matches this year than Tsitsipas (26) but the 22-year-old has lost all seven finals at the ATP 500 level.
Nadal survived though and finally converted his fourth break chance in the following game, snuffing out a Tsitsipas break point in the final game before clinching his 61st clay-court title.
His 12 Barcelona victories are second only to his 13 Roland Garros trophies.
