Carlos Alcaraz will defend his Barcelona Open title and could face Rafael Nadal in the tournament.
Well, it just can’t get any better as Carlos Alcaraz has revealed that he will be defending his title at the Barcelona Open this year, and the tournament is scheduled to be held from April 13-21. Tennis fans will be extremely excited as even Rafael Nadal has confirmed his participation in the event.
Alcaraz, who is the current world No. 2, defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final last year. “It is a very special tournament for me, with a lot of history and it is played on courts that I have known very well since I was little. In addition, having all the love of the people in the stands makes it even more emotional,” said Alcaraz.
Meanwhile, Barcelona Open’s Sporting Director David Ferrer said, “Alcaraz has exceptional conditions to be able to dominate the point against any rival and that makes him different from any other player. And we are talking about the youngest tennis player in history to be number one in the world.”
Alcaraz and Nadal are also scheduled to face each other in an exhibition match, organised by streaming giants Netflix. The exhibition match is part of ‘The Netflix Slam’ and according to the company, more matches and players will be announced later.
In terms of head-to-head, Nadal leads 2-1 against his 20-year-old countryman. First, they met in the second round of 2021 Madrid Masters, where Nadal won for the loss of only three games. Less than a year later, they met again at Indian Wells, where Nadal needed three sets to beat his opponent. Alcaraz finally managed to get a win, defeating the then 21-time Major winner a few months later in Madrid, sealing a 6-2 1-6 6-3 victory.
Nadal is currently participating at the Brisbane International, which is also his comeback after a lengthy absence due to a torn hip flexor.
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