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Footballer’s son watched Nadal play in Barcelona
World No. 3 Rafael Nadal might have spent some extra time on the practice court at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell recently, but he still found time for a great gesture for one of his youngest fans.
Former FC Barcelona player Neymar posted an adorable Instagram Story featuring his son, Davi Lucca, receiving any Nadal fan’s ultimate dream: a personalised video message from the Spanish legend himself.
Turns out, the nine-year-old was one of the limited number of fans in attendance at Pista Rafa Nadal, alongside other FC Barcelona figures including club president Joan Laporta and players like Pedri Gonzalez, Riqui Puig and Francisco Trincao. But as a result of strict health and safety protocols, Davi Lucca was unable to meet the 11-time champion in person.
Coming into his quarter-final clash against Norrie, Nadal’s level had raised some alarm bells among Spanish tennis fans as he dropped a set in each of his previous matches in Barcelona. He was taken the distance against Ilya Ivashka and two-time Barcelona champion Kei Nishikori – a rare occurrence on the Spaniard’s happiest hunting ground.
Nadal has lifted the Trofeo de Godo 11 times, and had not previously dropped more than one set en route to any of his record Barcelona titles. In fact, he won the title without losing a set on nine occasions.
He was under pressure on Friday again, as Norrie broke his serve late in the second set to bring them to 4-4, threatening to force another three-setter. But this time, Nadal responded emphatically with a break back to love to seal his 13th semi-final berth in Barcelona.
16-10
In a repeat of the 2018 final, Tsitsipas will meet 11-time champion Rafael Nadal for the trophy. The 20-time Grand Slam champion charged past Marbella champion Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3, 6-2 in 89 minutes. Nadal won the 2018 championship match 6-2, 6-1, but Tsitsipas rallied from two sets down in their most recent meeting at the Australian Open in February.
“It feels great to be back [in the final]. I will try to redeem myself from last time… [Rafa] is someone that I really respect and have always dreamed of beating,” said Tsitsipas. “The fact that I was able to do it this year pushes me to push myself. I feel like I need experiences like this to grow as a player. A final is always a very important phase in a tournament.”