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Rafael Nadal faces his toughest test yet at the 2019 Barcelona Open as he squares off against Dominic Thiem in his quest to continue his hunt for a staggering 12th title at the Catalan capital. The King of Clay hasn't been at his imperious best so far in the clay season, much to the surprise of tennis lovers.
He is yet to produce the kind of dominance that one expects from the 11-time French Open champion on the red dirt. At the Monte Carlo Masters last week, the Spaniard was a pale shadow of himself as he struggled against Fabio Fognini, bowing out in the semi-finals.
Rafa has admitted that his frequent injuries have given rise to doubts in his mind which were reflected this week even at Barcelona. In his first match, he dropped a set to beat Leonardo Mayer. While his outing against old friend David Ferrer was an easy one, he again faced some stiff resistance from Jan-Lennard Struff whom he beat at the expense of 10 games.
But none of them were as feisty as Rafa's next opponent, Thiem. The Austrian has proved his credentials on clay for the last 3-4 years with his best performance on the surface coming at Roland Garros last year where he lost to none other than Nadal in the final.
But before that, he did get the better of Nadal in Madrid. Interestingly, all three of Thiem's wins over Nadal have come on the terre battue, which itself implies that Rafa needs to be wary of the World No. 5.
The Indian Wells Masters winner didn't drop a set in his wins over Diego Schwartzman, Jaume Munar and Guido Pella this week and with Nadal yet to find his footing on clay, this could be Thiem's best chance to earn another win over the World No. 2.
Here is all you need to know about the Barcelona Open:
Tournament name: Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell
Date: April 22-28 2019
Category: ATP 500
Location: Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, Spain
Surface: Clay
Time: (1) Rafael Nadal vs (3) Dominic Thiem semi-final match not before 4pm local time or 7:30pm IST on April 27, 2019
Where to watch the Barcelona Open in the USA?
Tennis Channel will show the Barcelona Open live in the USA.
Where to watch the Barcelona Open in the UK & Europe?
Amazon Prime Video will show the Barcelona Open live in the UK.
Where to watch the Barcelona Open in India?
In India, the Barcelona Open will be shown live on Sony ESPN.
Live Stream Details and Info for the Barcelona Open
Live Stream for the Barcelona Open is available on Tennis TV (a subscription is needed for the service).
2019 Barcelona Open news, updates, schedule, results and more on Sportskeeda
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
