Rafael Nadal, undoubtedly the King of Clay has announced his participation for 2017 Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. The 30-year-old will target his tenth title in the tournament's 65th edition which will be played from April 22-30 at the Real Club Tennis Barcelona-1899.
For the Majorcan, this will be his thirteenth appearance at the ATP 500 event. He could become the first player to win the tournament on ten occasions. "I will play again at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, a very important tournament for everyone on the world tennis calendar. As always, playing in Spain, at home, is an extra motivation for me for many reasons but mainly because of the support of the public, which is closer. In addition, the tournament is played at my tennis club, and in Barcelona, which makes everything more special, "he explained.
Albert Costa pleased to have secured Nadal
The director of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, Albert Costa is very pleased that Nadal has committed to playing this tournament. Costa does not hide that this is great news for the Tennis fans all around the world. "The possibility of watching Nadal play in Barcelona is reduced to one week a year and it is normal that the expectation is triggered as he is one of the most extraordinary players that appear only once in a while in the world of sport. I am convinced that Rafa will return to play at the highest level and that we will have yet again a super tournament."
Nadal finished the 2016 season ranked at number nine. The season has seen him struggle with several physical problems which have seen him not perform as he normally would. The Spaniard, however, did manage to win the 1000 Masters event Monte Carlo Rolex Masters and capture a ninth ATP 500 event Barcelona Open title defeating Kei Nishikori, a three-time champion.
Rafael Nadal has played this tournament on 12 occasions, winning nine titles, playing 52 matches going on to win 49 of them. His only three losses have come to Alex Corretja in his debut back in 2003, relatively recently Nicolas Almagro in 2014 and Fabio Fognini in 2015.