The playing style of Stefanos Tsitsipas might suit the hard courts as he is a quick-mover and likes to come forward most of the times, but even his record on clay has seen a gradual improvement over the years.

He has been having a magnificent run on the red dirt this year, where he won the Monte-Carlo Masters title and followed it up with a runner-up trophy at the Barcelona Open. It was Rafael Nadal who prevented the Greek from claiming his second consecutive clay-court title.

“I’m really jealous”- Stefanos Tsitsipas

The championship match at the Barcelona Open was an enthralling contest, played at the highest quality from both Nadal and Tsitsipas. The duo produced high-octane rallies from the back of the court and also at the net.

But when it mattered the most, it was the Spaniard who put his experience to play and won against Tsitsipas. The Greek had a match point in the third set but he couldn’t make the most out of it, thanks to Nadal’s incredible first serves.

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The Spaniard never had to look back after saving the match point. In a way, it was the saturation point for Tsitsipas as he finally gave up after playing grueling tennis for more than three hours.

Watch: Rafael Nadal Hits an Outrageous Forehand Passing Shot Against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona Open Final

Speaking at the trophy presentation, Tsitsipas mentioned that Nadal is one of the biggest competitors of the sport. He also joked about the Spaniard winning his 12th Barcelona Open title.

“How many is that? 28. 28 Barcelona Open titles is not bad. I am really jealous,” Tsitsipas laughed.

It isn’t fun playing against Rafael Nadal, says Tsitsipas

It was a high-quality match and Tsitsipas was clearly seemed disappointed to have lost the match by a whisker. Congratulating the twenty time Grand Slam champion, Tsitsipas continued, “You’ve earned it, Rafa. One of the biggest competitors on our sport… I’m not the first person to tell you that… It isn’t fun playing against you, but congratulations.”

It’s admirable to see the jovial spirit of the Greek despite a trembling loss. The next-gen star has a lot of positives to take from this defeat. With his incredible run at both the clay court tournaments this year, Tsitsipas has a good chance of making it to the finals of the French Open this year. He reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year, where he lost to Novak Djokovic in a tight, five-setter.

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