Rafael Nadalwho returned to compete on Tuesday after more than three months of absence, was eliminated this Wednesday in the second round of the Barcelona Tournament by the Australian Alex de Minaur, 7-5 and 6-1.
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The winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments competed well, but ended up complaining of a lack of competition rhythm against the Australian, world number eleven, who accelerated in the second set.
“I achieved a victory against Rafa on clay, which is something I never thought I would achieve in my career,” De Miñaur said after the match.
Nadal He had easily beaten Italian Flavio Cobolli (6-2, 6-3) on Tuesday in his return to competition since his injury in January in Brisbane, but he himself admitted that he was not a favorite against the Australian.
“The duel against De Minaur will have a rhythm that I don’t know if I will be able to follow, but we are going to try,” he had stated. Nadal on Tuesday.
The Spaniard, who has fallen to number 644 in the world, began by seeing his rival break his initial game, but with 3-2 down, the Spaniard managed to react to return the break and equalize the score 3-3.
The Australian, the fourth seed in the tournament, went through some difficult moments, but with the score at 5-5, De Minaur chained eight points in a row to close the set 7-5.
In the second round, De Minaur gave greater intensity to his game than Nadal couldn’t continue.
“The game plan was to be aggressive and try to move Rafa as much as possible,” said De Miñaur.
The Australian broke the serve Nadal in the third game to go 2-1 and confirm 3-1 with his serve.
The Spaniard struggled to keep up with the Australian, who went on the attack and once again broke his rival’s serve, who managed to save three break points, before De Miñaur went up 4-1 and confirmed the 5-1 with his take out.
Nadal He should now continue his preparation with a view to Roland Garros next week at the Masters 1000 in Madrid.
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2024-04-17 16:21:06
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