Rafael Nadal totally dismissed the favorite tag at the 2024 Barcelona Open, bestowed upon him by Stefanos Tsitsipas, suggesting that it's stupid.
After weeks of uncertainty about when he'd return to the tennis courts, Nadal finally returned at the Barcelona Open. He took on rising Italian star Flavio Cobolli and bested him in two sets for his first win on the ATP Tour since the Brisbane International earlier this year.
In fact, this was the first match he's played on the ATP Tour since January, as the Netflix Slam was an exhibition. He did really well, comfortably beating the Italian in two sets, but as always, Nadal is dismissive of any suggestions that he's going to dominate on clay again.
Ahead of the event, Tsitsipas said that Nadal would be the favorite for the Barcelona Open if he played, but the Spaniard doesn't see it this way. He said that his suggestion was wrong.
"It's stupid, let's face it, he knows that's not the case. I suppose there is a lot of respect for what I have done in this tournament, but everyone knows that I am no longer a favorite to aspire to win a tournament. There is simply a story behind it that weighs heavily on rivals."
There is a lot of respect for his legacy, so nobody dares to question him on clay. Obviously, that would be unreasonable, given his success, but Nadal doesn't see himself as a favorite for any event at the moment, and he wasn't afraid to admit it after his first-round win.
"To this day I am not the favorite, maybe in today's game yes, it is possible, I swear I have no idea if I was or not. I didn't care either. I know that tomorrow I am not a favorite, but it doesn't matter either."
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