“The Matador” is seeking to win his 13th title on clay courts for Barcelona, following he had won his first title in 2005. “For Rafa to be in Barcelona is exciting for the tournament, and expectations will be high to see where he will reach,” said tournament director David Ferrer. Nadal has starred in the yellow ball courts since the beginning of this year, crowning his record 21st Grand Slam title following overturning his failure in the Australian Open final in two sets once morest Russian Daniil Medvedev to win 3-2. This victory allowed the 35-year-old to break his association with Serbian Novak Djokovic and Swiss Roger Federer in the major tournaments.
Nadal followed up his achievement in Melbourne with another victory at the Acapulco Games in Mexico last week. The Barcelona tournament begins on April 16, a month before the French Open in May.
Nadal hopes to continue his records at Roland Garros as he seeks to win the title for the 14th time in his career, following he lost in the semi-finals last year to former number one Djokovic.
