After 681 days, Rafael Nadal played a match on a clay court on Tuesday, as he bagged a dominant straight-sets victory over World No.62 Flavio Cobolli. Nadal’s comeback was much publicised and celebrated by fans across the world but some also compared the Spaniard to Novak Djokovic. This is even though Djokovic is not playing in the Barcelona Open 2024. The comparisons are due to Nadal’s 2 particular actions on and off the court, which involved crowd abuse and answering the press.
Following the first-round win, Rafael Nadal responded to Stefanos Tsitsipas’ comments about the 22-time Grand Slam winner being the ‘favorite’ to win the Barcelona Open 2024. Dismissing any such narratives, Rafa rejected the idea of him being one of the contenders to win the ATP 500 tournament.
“It’s stupid, let’s face it, he knows that’s not the case. I suppose there is a lot of respect for what I have been in this tournament, but everyone knows that I am no longer a favorite to aspire to win a tournament. There is simply a story behind it that weighs heavily on rivals. To this day I am not the favorite, maybe in today’s game yes, it is possible… I know that tomorrow (against de Minaur) I am not a favorite, but it doesn’t matter either. These are things for you, you have to write about these things, for me it is an experience playing against a top-level player. It will be a test for me, we will see how I respond,” Nadal said in a postgame conference, per PuntoDBreak.
While the 12-time Barcelona Open winner was typically self-deprecating and humble in talking about himself, Novak Djokovic often talks up himself so to some, he comes across as arrogant with his statements such as claiming he ‘will’ win all 4 Grand Slams in a calendar year, something which will not come true this season either.
Fans also compared two in-game situations that occurred recently to bring up Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
As Rafa was on the verge of winning the match, in the midst of his pre-serve rituals, a fan disrespected Flavio Cobolli by screaming “arrivederci Flavio” (goodbye Flavio). Known for his sportsmanship, Nadal paused, shook in head disapproving of the same move, and also apologized to his opponent on behalf of the ill-mannered spectator.
On the other hand, fans shed light on the meltdown Djokovic had, cussing at a spectator during his semi-final clash at the Monte-Carlo Masters 2024. Down 3-4 against Casper Ruud, the Serb was furious after losing the point.
Djoko yelled, “Would you shut the f**k up?!”
Alex de Minaur looks to create history against Rafael Nadal
Rafael Nadal had a dream return, defeating the 21-year-old 6-2, 6-3. The ‘King of Clay’ will next play Alex de Minaur in what is expected to be one of the most entertaining encounters of the tournament. While de Minaur will be the favorite to emerge victorious, the Aussie can expect the crowd to side with Nadal.
Alex de Minaur will be the highest-ranked opponent Rafael Nadal will be facing on Wednesday in the 2024 season on the ATP Tour. De Minaur has been in good form and recently, in the Monte Carlo Masters 2024, he gave Novak Djokovic a tough fight in the quarterfinals, even though the Serb won, 7-5, 6-4.
The Australian is known for his powerful ball striking and athleticism, which would make Rafael Nadal’s task of advancing into the Round of 16, extremely difficult even though he has the home advantage. With this match, De Minaur will also become one of those rare players to have played Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in a span of 5 days in back-to-back matches.
