Tennis superstar Rafael Nadal confidently mastered his first real test at the ATP Masters in Madrid. The 22-time Grand Slam winner from Spain won his second round match against world number eleven Alex de Minaur 7:6 (8:6), 6:3 and took revenge for the two-set defeat against the Australian in Barcelona ten days earlier.
For Nadal, who has struggled with numerous injuries in the recent past, it was the first win against a top 20 player since November 2022. In the third round, the clay court king will face Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.
At the start, the 37-year-old Nadal, who is basing his participation in the French Open (May 20th to June 9th) on “feeling competitive”, beat the 16-year-old American Darwin Blanch 6:1, 6:0 left no chance.
2024 could be Nadal’s farewell year on the ATP tour. Before the tournament in Madrid he announced that he would be playing in the “Caja Magica” for the last time. At the French Open, Nadal is the lone record holder with 14 tournament wins. The Roland Garros facility also hosts the tennis competitions of the Summer Olympics in Paris.
2024-04-27 22:58:27
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