Rafael Nadal will return to action this week in Barcelona and play just his second event of an injury-hit season. While the Spaniard lacked match practice, Stefanos Tsitsipas said it would be no surprise to see him battling for the title in the final.

Nadal, who has said he expects to retire after the 2024 season, returned to the tour in Brisbane in January after nearly a year out with a hip flexor injury. The 37-year-old has not played an ATP tournament since then due to a muscle issue.

“I arrived here (Barcelona) a bit like in a last minute decision as I didn’t know if I was going to be able to play,” the 22-time grand slam champion told a news conference. “Tomorrow I’m going to be on the court.”

Nadal won the Barcelona title 12 times and is drawn to play Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw Rafa in the final of Barcelona, because that’s something he has done over and over again for years and years,” Tsitsipas, who won the Monte Carlo title for a third time on Sunday, said.

“What he does have is this competitiveness and this fierce tennis when he gets into the momentum that sometimes feels like on the outside perspective unstoppable ... I think he’s the ultimate challenge on clay.

“Whether he’s playing now at, let’s say, later stages of his career or the ones before, what he has now that he didn’t before is experience, and he for sure knows ways to win points and to prevail more in economy mode than before.”