Rafael Nadal vs Stefanos Tsitsipas Tennis Prediction

In this first-ever meeting between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Rafael Nadal, the World #1 will start as the overwhelming favorite and Tsitsipas must produce the performance of a lifetime to stand a chance against the rampant Rafael Nadal.
That said, Nadal’s most recent loss came against a big server (Marin Cilic at the Australian Open), and since then, he did not meet anyone who serves as good as Stefanos Tsitsipas.

Rafael Nadal News

Rafael Nadal made a slow start to his semifinal match against David Goffin but recovered quickly and made it a one-sided contest from there, securing yet another straight-set win including a bagel, 6-4 6-0.
With the win against David Goffin, Rafael Nadal became only the fourth player to register 400 wins on clay (in tour-level events), after Guillermo Vilas, Manuel Orantes, and Thomas Muster (all are left-handed players). He is also the only player to have at least 400 wins on two different surfaces (425 on hard court).
The Spaniard will now play his 11th final in Barcelona, and he’s got a perfect record by winning the previous ten finals here (10/0), with the recent triumph coming against Dominic Thiem in 2017. In fact, the last time Rafael Nadal lost a clay final was at the 2015 Madrid Masters, against Andy Murray.

Stefanos Tsitsipas News

“Stefanos is a great player. Always the young players have something special and he’s playing with big confidence. He’s playing so well, so it’s going to be a very tough match tomorrow. I need to be ready to play at the highest level possible.” – Rafael Nadal ahead of the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Nadal is currently on an 18-match winning run on clay with his previous defeat coming against a player with a one-handed backhand, Dominic Thiem in the quarterfinal of Rome Masters 2017.
For the fifth time this week, Stefanos Tsitsipas produced a dominant performance and scored a straight-set win when he defeated Pablo Carreno Busta on Saturday, 7-5 6-3. Earlier this week, the Greek got wins over some fine clay court players such as Corentin Moutet, Diego Schwartzman, Dominic Thiem and Albert Ramos Vinolas.
Doing so, Tsitsipas became the first player from Greek to reach the final of an ATP World Tour event since Nicholas Kalogeropoulos lost the final of Des Moines (USA) to Clark Graebner in 1973. He defeated a Spaniard (Juan Gisbert Sr) in the semifinal.
The Next Gen Star, who made his first Challenger final in 2016 at Mohammedia challenger (clay, lost to Gerald Melzer), has now made his first ever tour-level final appearance in an ATP 500 series event (ATP Barcelona).
“I have watched millions of his matches on clay. I know the way he is playing and, I think, the way he is going to play against me” – the Greek teenager on facing Rafael Nadal.

Tennis Prediction: over 17.5 Games
Odds: 1.80