World quantity two Rafael Nadal stated his gruelling 6-4 6-7(6) 7-5 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona Open ultimate on Sunday might put together him for lengthy battles forward in the European claycourt season.
The 34-year-old, who claimed a record-extending twelfth Barcelona title, suffered a again harm in Melbourne earlier this 12 months earlier than he was crushed by Tsitsipas in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
Following a spell out on the sidelines, the 20-times Grand Slam champion returned to motion at Monte Carlo this month, going out in the quarters.
But the Spaniard, who will likely be on the lookout for a 14th French Open crown when the claycourt Grand Slam begins on May 30, confirmed he was returning to his battling greatest on Sunday, saving a match level earlier than happening to profitable his first title of 2021.
At three hours and 38 minutes, it was the longest best-of-three-set ATP Tour ultimate since statistics began being tracked in 1991, the governing physique of males’s tennis stated.
“I haven’t been in a position to play a lot of aggressive matches for the previous couple of months. It’s true that matches like in the present day make me really feel higher bodily and extra prepared for lengthy battles,” Nadal told reporters.
“I think I’ve been able to play better and better during the whole week in every single match and today was a bit better than yesterday. I have room to keep improving. I wasn’t perfect.
“I really believe I can play better than what I’m doing on clay and I hope that the victory is going to help me to raise a little bit my level that I need to fight for the next couple of events that I’m going to play.”
Nadal will subsequent be in motion on the Madrid Open in early May.
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