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Rafa Nadal and Marc López celebrated 25 years of Barcelona'92 with a master class from Antonio Rebollo
The spirit of Barcelona'92, which is touring the main sporting events of this year in the city, has also reached the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell with a very emotional action carried out by the Olympic champions of Rio 2016, Rafa Nadal and Marc Lopez, and Antonio Rebollo.

The archer, who once had the responsibility of lighting the cauldron of the Olympic Stadium in Montjuïc at the Opening Ceremony, gave a master class to the two tennis players, who attended with great enthusiasm each and every one of the explanations. The Madrilenian, taught them first the tricks on how to mount the arch and leave it ready to throw the arrows. Marc has difficulties with the process of tightening the rope, but with the correct explanations of Rebollo, he solved it in a few seconds.

Rafa, for his part, was very excited about this action that has recovered one of the most mythical moments in the history of the Olympic Games. The way of lighting the Barcelona '92 cauldron, with the Olympic flame coming through an arrow thrown by Rebollo,  a quarter of a century later lives on as one of the greatest images of those Games. The Majorcan, who was six years old in 1992, tried to imitate the Madrilenian and recreated with arch in hand this historic moment.

Barcelona Open

Rafael Nadal captured an incredible 10th Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters crown on Sunday in beating fellow Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-1, 6-3 in the 76-minute final. Nadal’s 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title, one shy of record-holder Novak Djokovic (30), marks the first time in the Open Era (since April 1968) that any man has won a singles tournament on 10 occasions.
The victory also sees Nadal clinch his 50th clay-court crown (50-8), breaking the record he shared with Guillermo Vilas since 24 April 2016, when he lifted his ninth trophy at the Barcelona Open Banco Sabadell.
“It really is unbelievable,” said Nadal. “To win 10 times at such an important event like Monte-Carlo is something difficult to describe my feelings. Every year has been a different feeling. At the same time it is always a unique moment, every time, I have this trophy with me. [Of course] there is a little bit of luck, lot of things coming together to win this 10th title in an event like Monte-Carlo.
“I feel lucky to keep playing tennis [and] being healthy all those years, in order to compete in one of the most beautiful events of the year, without a doubt. I am very happy to win another one. For me, it is a very important day in my career.”

His Serene Highness Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco presented Nadal with the trophy after he improved to a 63-4 match record at the Monte-Carlo County Club, receiving an incredible ovation for his moment of tennis history from the capacity crowd. World No. 7 Nadal earned 1,000 Emirates ATP Rankings points and will now travel to Barcelona, where he will look to further add to his legacy as the undisputed ‘King of Clay’, with €820,035 in prize money.
Nadal has now won an ATP World Tour title for the 14th year in a row (since 2004) and now has a 70-35 mark in title matches during his illustrious career. Ever since making his tour-level debut in 2003, Nadal has compiled a 370-34 match record (.916) on the dirt – the best winning percentage of any player in the Open Era.

Source: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

2017 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters FINAL Rafael Nadal bt. Albert Ramos-Vinolas  6/1 6/3

Rafa Nadal, who had practised first-strike tennis on Court Rainier III hours before the afternoon final, put Ramos-Vinolas under immediate pressure in his first service game, but he could not convert three break point opportunities. In targeting Ramos-Vinolas’ backhand with his heavy topspin forehand, Nadal created space and in the fourth game secured a 3-1 advantage with a break to love. A second service break followed at 1-4, 15/40, when Ramos-Vinolas struck a forehand into the net. Nadal, who had been quick to move up the court for the short ball, clinched the 30-minute set with an ace.
Ramos-Vinolas, who attempted not to be pushed back further behind the baseline, settled down in the early stages of the second set, but at 2-2 the relentless depth and pace of Nadal saw the World No. 24 get broken for a third time (to 30) with a mis-timed backhand that sailed long.
Nadal experienced a brief wobble when leading 4-3, dropping to 0/30, but clever surface placement ensured short responses for routine groundstroke winners. At 3-5, Ramos-Vinolas buckled under tremendous pressure. Having saved two championship points, courtesy of Nadal errors, Ramos-Vinolas hit a double fault on Nadal’s third championship point.

Source: Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters

Photos: Getty; Reuters

2017 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters SF Rafael Nadal bt. David Goffin  6/3 6/1

Next - Albert Ramos-Vinolas

Rafael Nadal will attempt to win an incredible 10th Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters crown on Sunday against fellow  Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

“It’s tough to believe that I’m in a final again here. It’s unbelievable news for me. It’s another great event. Having all these great results since the beginning of the season allows me to still have a position in the top eight. That's a very important thing for me,” said Nadal. "I'm able to start the clay-court season playing a final in one of the most important events of the year. It’s a very special place for me and this is something that makes me feel very happy. Very excited about it.”

2017 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters QF Rafael Nadal bt. Diego Schwartzman  6/4 6/4

“I am through, I am in semi-finals,” said Nadal. “That’s what I’m looking for, it’s a great start to the clay-court season. Tomorrow, I am going to have a very tough match against a player that is playing so good. I need to play better than today, obviously. But I think the conditions are going to be different. I hope to be ready to play well.”

“[Goffin] is a great player. He’s a player that is playing unbelievably well during the whole season. He is winning so many matches. A big, talented player. I know he can win against everybody. And he knows that. Every time he’s more and more confident. I said last year, ‘He’s a player that can fight for the top position’, because he’s a very complete player on all of the surfaces. He can play well everywhere. That’s very important today. He is a big, big player.”

“I think I had the [winning] mentality when I was 4-2 in the second set,” said Nadal. 

The centre court of the Real Club Tenis Barcelona (RCTB) will be named Rafa Nadal in tribute to the player who has dominated the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell during the last decade and who is now ready to fight for the tenth title at the historic tournament of the ATP circuit.

The agreement was made last night unanimously and by acclamation in the Extraordinary Assembly of the RCTB that took place in the multipurpose sports hall of the centenary entity. "For us it is a pride to have a player like Nadal, one of the best in the history and who has joined the club since he was 11 years of age," said Albert Agustí, president of the club, who has indicated that "by naming the centre court Rafa Nadal we position ourselves at the same level of tournaments that dedicate their courts to their legends.”

The official ceremony of this well-deserved baptism will take place in the coming days. The organization will wait for the player to arrive in Barcelona to agree on the most appropriate time to carry out the ceremony.

Both the RCTB and the Organizing Committee of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell have wanted to pay tribute to the great figure of the tournament and which everyone considers not only the best Spanish tennis player ever, but the best Spanish sportsman of all time.