Rafael Nadal after his Barcelona victory: “The most important thing is to have played”

Rafael Nadal says his aim is no longer to win tournaments, and that he can’t be considered a favourite for a title

Rafael Nadal in Barcelona (Chryslene Caillaud/Panoramic)

April 16, 2024

Rafael Nadal has spent his career explaining that, no, he’s not as much of a favourite as we all thought. Never the favourite, always in contention: that’s how he handles the pressure. But since 2022, we’ve believed him.

So when Stefanos Tsitsipas asserted that Nadal was the favourite to win the title in Barcelona – as he has done 12 times previously – the former world No 1 took a firm and definitive stance. And not even his victory over Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday, his first on clay in two years and his first in Barcelona since 2021, will change his mind.

“It’s stupid, let’s face it, he knows it’s not the case,” Nadal is quoted as saying in Spanish in a post-match press conference. “I suppose there’s a lot of respect for what I have been in this tournament, but everyone knows I’m no longer a favourite to aspire to win a tournament.

“To this day, I’m not the favourite, maybe in today’s match yes, it’s possible, I swear I don’t know if I was or not. I didn’t care. I know tomorrow [against Alex de Minaur] I’m not the favourite, but that’s okay too.”

Tennis Majors

The priority for Nadal this week is beyond lifting a trophy. The Spaniard is playing in his last season, and it started very badly, so now he’s enjoying playing wherever he can make an appearance. Results have become secondary, and for this ultimate competitor, that says it all. (Having said that, the champion instinct never really disappears, so if he gets an opportunity and his body cooperates with him to suffer a little longer, who knows…)

“Playing is always a reason for joy, this is the reality,” he said, adding: “The most important thing is to have played, the rest is secondary. Until the week is over we won’t know anything, for me it is important that nothing happens. Although it is difficult, perhaps it is not the week to do everything that my heart tells me. We are going to do things as best we can, with a lot of logic. That today’s game went like this is positive, it allows me to play again tomorrow. I don’t know how my body will respond to the demands, but I am realistic with what I have experienced in the last year and a half. We’ll see how far I go, but I’ll try not to cross lines that aren’t dangerous. From how I am now to how I was a week ago there is an important change. I see myself as competitive, I see myself as capable of enjoying playing, all of this was quite far away a week ago.

“That’s sport, things change very quickly.”