Rafael Nadal may have teed off for the very last time in the Barcelona Open. The 37-year-old player, who earlier indicated that 2024 may be his last year of competitive tennis, went down 7-5, 6-1 against Alex de Minaur.
“Fortunately, I was able to get a chance to say goodbye here on the track – something that means a lot to me. I was initially unsure about my participation in the tournament, but I am grateful that I could at least play,” said the Spanish star.
Nadal made his comeback against Flavio Cobolli this week and beat the Italian 6-2 and 6-3.
He said after this victory that he didn’t know if he could hold a candle to De Minaur and the much younger Aussie ended up having just too much ammunition.
“Alex is a very good player and if you look at his general game, he was simply better than me. I am very proud of him and I want to congratulate him – he has been playing excellent tennis since the start of the season.”
The winner of 22 Grand Slam titles hopes that he can serve up competitive play again in the near future.
“I haven’t trained much, but my performance against Flavio is enough encouragement to keep playing. I only have to train with top players.”
Nadal undoubtedly has the French Open in his sights – after all, he has already held up the silverware in Paris 14 times.
“I have to build on these performances to give myself a chance at Roland-Garros.”
See you in Paris, @RafaelNadal ???? @bcnopenbs | #BCNopenBS pic.twitter.com/wBXQ2LRTY4
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 18, 2024
Results:
Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Sebastian Ofner 6-4 and 7-5
Roberto Carballes Baena beat Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 and 6-4
Alex de Minaur beats Rafael Nadal 7-5 and 6-1
Dusan Lajovic beat Ugo Humbert 6-4 and 6-4
Casper Ruud beats Alexandre Muller 6-3 and 6-4
