Nadal Rejects Favoritism Considered by Tsitsipas: “It’s Stupid, He Knows It’s Not Like That”

Rafael Nadal responded to Stefanos Tsitsipas regarding the Greek considering the Spaniard as “the favorite” to win the Barcelona ATP 500 tournament, and denied being the top contender to lift the Catalan trophy.

“It’s stupid, he [Tsitsipas] knows it’s not like that,” he said after winning a match in the first round of the Catalan event, marking his return to competition after a three and a half month hiatus. Nonetheless, he viewed the Hellenic’s words as a sign of “respect.” “It’s respect for what I’ve done in the tournament, there’s a story behind it, but everyone knows I’m not the favorite. It might have been today (against Flavio Cobolli), although I swear I had no idea if it was. Tomorrow (against Alex de Minaur) I’m not, but it doesn’t matter,” he stressed.

“I have no idea how I’m going to respond. With all humility, tennis has never been an issue; there have been many other things. If I look at how I was a week ago, the change has been significant. The important thing is that nothing happens. This is not the week to do everything my heart tells me. We have to play as logically as possible, without crossing dangerous lines,” added the 37-year-old tennis player who also recalled what happened at the Brisbane ATP 250 in January 2023 when, after three matches, he stopped again due to injury, a break that lasted until this Tuesday.

“It’s like a jungle, we don’t know what we can find. The game against Minaur will have a pace that I’m not sure I can keep up with, but I will try,” concluded the 22-time Grand Slam champion.

It is worth mentioning that Rafael Nadal and Alex de Minaur will face each other this Wednesday, not before 3:00 PM in Portugal.