Rafael Nadal Wins 12th Barcelona Open Title, Beats Stefanos Tsitsipas

Barcelona Open: Rafael Nadal secured his first title of the year and 87th of his career, denying Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5.

Rafael Nadal saved a championship point to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 7-5 on Sunday 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 on Monday by climbing back above Daniil Medvedev after his marathon 3-hour 38-minute win. "It means a lot for me to play the final here and win... I improved my level during the week and this trophy means a lot," said Nadal. Nadal redeemed himself after a surprise quarter-final exit in Monte Carlo, but the three sets dropped en route to the title represented the most in any of his wins here.