IF there was ever a Rafael Nadal critic who did not think for some wild reason he was not the greatest ever clay courter, then the 2020 Barcelona Open fantasy tennis tournament final would have been exhibit A to prove to the critic otherwise.

In a stunning couple of sets after dropping the first set in a tiebreaker, the world number two completely dismantled the best player in the world to win 11 of the last 12 games and blow Novak Djokovic off the court. It was a sight that no-one – not even the Spanish crowd – could have expected to see, as Nadal played some extraordinary tennis to make the only player ranked higher than him on the world stage look like barely a top 200 player.

Djokovic was far from bad which was the remarkable thing, Nadal just stepped it up to a level seldom seen. He was serving at 85 per cent and hitting more than 50 winners over the last two sets, a remarkable feat considering he dropped the first set. Indeed after the first set, it looked like Djokovic might turn the Monte Carlo final loss against his opponent around, winning 7-4 in the tiebreaker to take an early advantage.

But once he held serve in the fourth game of the second set to level the scores at 2-2, little did he know that would be the last hurrah. Nadal went to town, using his elite court coverage and shot consistency to out hit and out play his equally talented and versatile opponent. If the match had been on hard court the result might have been different, but if Nadal played the way he did in the final two sets on any surface, no one would have beaten him.

Nadal’s triumph was his 87th title – his 12th at Barcelona – and second this year, moving seven clear of Djokovic with no doubt more clay success on the way and another big win in the lead-up to the 2020 Roland Garros Grand Slam.

FINAL RESULT:

[2] Rafael Nadal (ESP) defeated [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) 6-7 6-2 6-0