Rafael Nadal says goodbye to the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell-Trofeo Conde de Godó. The man from Manacor has been defeated in the second round (7-5 and 6-1) by the Australian Alex de Miñaurfourth seed in the tournament and eleventh player in the world ranking, in one hour and 52 minutes.
The man from Manacor could not cope with the frenetic pace that his opponent imposed, very solid from the bottom of the track and that, aware of the Spanish’s difficulties in running forward, He riddled him with drop shots from the first moment. The twelve-time Godó champion started the match by losing his serve, but soon found cruising speed to turn the match around and string together four games in a row, even forcing a break point to go ahead 5-3.
But when De Minaur saved that break chance and held serve for 4-4, Nadal realized that I would have to make a titanic effort to stay alive in one of his fetish tournaments. The 14-time Roland Garros champion held on for a few more minutes to the court that bears his name, alternating some worthwhile blows—especially with his cross-court backhand—and supported by the more than 8,000 spectators who did not want to miss what has probably been his last Dance in Barcelona.
However, with the score at 5-5, De Minaur sharpened his tennis to take the next two games blank and close the first set 5-7.
It had taken the Australian, a quarter-finalist in Monte Carlo, an hour and ten minutes to defeat the king of the land who, about to turn 38 (next June 3), was competing his second official match in 103 days and physically diminished. Even so, Nadal tried to maintain his composure at the beginning of the second set while smiling at each failure, as if forgiving himself for not being able to compete at his usual level at this point in his career.
The former world number one won his first serve in this second set to go ahead 1-0 on the scoreboard, but lost the next six to hand the second set 1-6.
As soon as the defeat was consummated, Rafa Nadal left the court as he is, without drama. He timidly said goodbye to the Balearic audience at the headquarters who gave him a standing ovation, including a Alex de Minaur who barely celebrated his place in the round of 16. And Nadal, although now he is far from his best moment, is still the king of the clay.
2024-04-17 16:33:59
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