Nadal registers 450th win on clay, attains a unique record
Rafael Nadal, on Friday, beat Cameron Norrie 6-1, 6-4 to reach the last four at Barcelona. With this, Nadal registered his 450th match win on claycourt. He became the first player in the Open Era to win at least 450 matches on two surfaces, clay and hard courts. Now, Nadal is through to the Barcelona Open final after beating Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2.
A look at his wins on clay and hardcourt
Nadal's tally of 450 wins (451 now) is the third-highest on the clay, after Guillermo Vilas (681) and Manuel Orantes (569). The 20-time Grand Slam champion has also won 490 matches on hardcourt, making him one of the most successful players on the surface. He is only behind Roger Federer (783), Novak Djokovic (613), and Andre Agassi (592) on this tally.
Rafa scripts history!
Need to hold the intensity throughout: Nadal
Speaking on his win after the match, Nadal said, "I played well at the beginning, especially the first set I think I did a lot of things well." "Then, I stopped myself a little bit in the second. [That's] something that cannot happen, especially tomorrow. I need to hold the level of intensity of the first set."
The King of Clay!
As of now, Nadal owns most claycourt titles (60) in the Open Era. He holds an all-time record of winning 13 French Open titles. Besides, he also owns a record 11 Monte-Carlo Masters and 11 Barcelona titles. Nadal has an incredible record of 60-8 in claycourt tournament finals, and has lost only twice in best-of-five-set matches on the surface.
Barcelona Open: Nadal set to face Tsitsipas in the final
Nadal proceeded to the Barcelona Open final with a 6-3, 6-2 win against countryman Pablo Carreno Busta. The top-seed will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in what will be his 12th Barcelona final. Notably, Nadal owns a combined 23-1 record in Barcelona semi-final and final matches. His only defeat here after reaching the final four came in 2019, when he lost to eventual champion Dominic Thiem.
