Rafael Nadal made it an atmosphere of joy around most of the tennis world by playing his first ATP Tour match in more than 3 months at the Barcelona Open 2024 on Tuesday. Yet, the feud between NoleFam (fan club of Novak Djokovic) and Nadal fans continues in the online world. There are many who believe that Nadal is scared to play at the highest level and would do so only if the draw is in his favor.
Given that Nadal pulled out of the Indian Wells and Monte Carlo Masters 2024 tournaments at the last minute after posting his practice videos, the NoleFam isn’t missing any opportunity to point it out. Not just that, a Novak Djokovic superfan has drawn a hilarious comparison to a meme from WWE.
X user Danny, who also goes by @Djokovicfan, took to his account and wrote a post that made fun of Nadal. Here’s what he wrote:
Danny wrote, “Nadal when he saw that none of Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz or Sinner are playing in Barcelona:”
That wasn’t just the hilarious bit. It was the GIF he attached alongside it, which showed an injured Kevin Nash suddenly getting up from his wheelchair and getting ready to fight. This is presumable from 2003 when Nash returned from a 9-month injury to fight both Shawn Michaels and Triple H. However, here, Danny mocked Nadal for entering into a competition only when he saw that Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz weren’t playing.
Since neither of the ATP’s Top 3 players is playing, it would be easier for Nadal to win. Few critics had already stated that Nadal was fit enough to play both the Indian Wells and Miami Open but chose to skip it since he thought he wouldn’t win. Nevertheless, Nadal is fit and ready to conquer the Barcelona Open, as he prepares to take on Alex de Minaur in his second round match on Wednesday.
Nadal has also previously faced accusations of the ATP favoring him, especially that of blue clay in the 2012 Madrid Open getting disbanded because he lost that year. However, the champion player manages to bounce back time and again and silence his critics and online trolls. He has won the Barcelona Open a record 12 times and eyes to win his 13th title this year.
Rafael Nadal run at the 2024 Barcelona Open begins
Rafael Nadal beat Flavio Cobolli 6-3, 6-3 in straight sets on Tuesday to win his Round of 64 encounter. Nadal will take on World No.11 Alex de Minaur next at the Pista Rafa Nadal Court. The match will begin on Wednesday not before 8 AM ET. It will stream live on the Tennis Channel in the US and Sky in the UK. The weather is slightly chilly at 15-17 degrees Celsius in Barcelona. There is a 24 km/h wind speed, 66% humidity, and a 10% chance of rainfall.
In their head-to-head, Rafael Nadal leads 3-1 against Alex de Minaur. Nadal won the first 3 encounters against de Minaur, whereas the Australian won their last battle in 2023. In 2018, Nadal beat de Minaur 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in the Wimbledon Round of 32 match. The next year at the 2019 Australian Open, Nadal won 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 again in the Round of 32.
At the ATP Cup semi-final in 2020, Rafael Nadal beat Alex de Minaur 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. And finally, at the 2023 United Cup, Alex de Minaur beat Rafael Nadal, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5. So their Barcelona Open 2024 clash will be the first time they would clash on clay.
