Although it is impossible to completely turn back the hands of the clock, Rafael Nadal showed what he is capable of when he settled with Alex de Minaur in Madrid.
The Spaniard thus took revenge after the very Aussie eliminated him in the Barcelona Open.
The final score was now 7-6 and 6-3 in favor of the winner of 22 Grand Slam titles and it was his first victory since 2022 against an opponent ranked among the top 20 players worldwide.
But despite the powerful strokes and clenched-fist celebrations, Nadal believes he still has hard work ahead of him.
“I definitely still need more time. There were a few good moments here and there and I was able to deliver positive play, but it is still very fickle,” said the 37-year-old player.
Still, he is grateful that he was able to beat De Minaur.
“I am super happy to produce competitive play against a top player like Alex. It means a lot to me, and the atmosphere on the track was incredible.”
Among others, Nadal played in front of King Felipe VI of Spain, while former soccer player Zinedine Zidane also followed the action from his pavilion seat.
“If I can play on a streak for a few weeks, I’ll see how far I can take things. However, I want to be as competitive as possible on the track.”
He will face Argentina’s Pedro Cachin in the next round.
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— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 27, 2024
Results:
Coco Gauff beat Dayana Yastremska 6-4 and 6-1
Beatriz Haddad Maia beat Emma Navarro 6-4 and 6-4
Madison Keys beat Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 6-3
Our Jabeur beat Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 2-6 and 6-4
Jelena Ostapenko beat Maria Lourdes Carlé 6-3 and 6-3
Maria Sakkari beats Sloane Stephens 6-1 and 6-3
Iga Swiatek beat Sorana Cirstea 6-1 and 6-1
Casper Ruud beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4 and 6-1
Ben Shelton beat Tomas Machac 6-0, 6-2
Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Adrian Mannarino 6-0 and 6-4
Jakub Mensik beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-7 and 6-3
Rafael Nadal beat Alex de Minaur 7-6 and 6-3
Daniil Medvedev beat Matteo Arnaldi 2-6, 6-4 and 6-4
Jannik Sinner beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-0 and 6-3
Thiago Monteiro beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 and 6-4
