Rafael Nadal Makes Strong Return on Clay at Barcelona Open

Like the good old times. Rafael Nadal had not played a match on clay on the circuit since his 14th title at Roland-Garros in 2022, but he had no trouble quickly finding his feet on Tuesday in Barcelona. After three months without competition, the Mallorcan made a very promising recovery by sharply dominating the young Italian Flavio Cobolli, 62nd in the world, in two sets (6-2, 6-3) and 1h25 on the central court which bears his name in Catalonia . In the 2nd round of the ATP 500 tournament, the test will nevertheless be quite different against the Australian Alex de Minaur, 11th in the ATP.

At a press conference on Monday, Rafael Nadal considered himself ready to finally take up the racket, and on Tuesday, Catalan spectators and other observers understood why. The Majorcan may soon be 38 years old and have a body that creaks all over, but when he is fit to play, he is nothing like a 644th player in the world, his current ranking. Flavio Cobolli learned this the hard way, at the age of 21. Confronted with the legend, he suffered throughout the game, too tense but also logically dominated by the science of his opponent’s game on clay.

Science of play on land and some flashes

Rafael Nadal did not play breathtaking tennis this Tuesday, but his natural average level on clay is so high that there was quickly no photo. From the fourth game, the young Italian showed his limits against the famous left-handed forehand cross which faced him diagonally. Forced to step back due to the volume of the Spaniard’s shots, he frequently played on his heels and jumping and the fouls piled up (41 in total). After quickly making the break (4-1), Nadal took the lead by once again delighting the opposing service.

As obvious: Nadal signs the point of the match

As so often in his career, the Mallorcan perfectly exploited all the geometry of the court by frequently off-centering his opponent thanks to short crossed and rounded areas. And he gave reasons to the Catalan public, who were impatiently awaiting him, to get up with some flashes like a series of backhands in strength then in finesse (cushioned with lateral effect) or a majestic counter of a long forehand including he has the secret. He only experienced a moment of hesitation when, after making the break at the start of the second act, he gave back his advantage with four errors: a double fault, two forehand faults then one backhand.

But the man with 22 Grand Slam titles left no room for doubt, recovering in stride to break away again (6-2, 4-1). If his tennis was not free of some slag on the forehand and in defense, which is quite normal after so much time without playing, he was able to use intensity to dictate the game. The only real point weak to note was his first service ball. Having been delicate with his back and abs in recent weeks, he has served on average at 170 km/h (with a peak of 186), above all treating his areas. Will he pay for it against a much more solid player like Alex de Minaur? The rest will tell, but his clan had many reasons to congratulate themselves after this successful recovery.

2024-04-16 17:18:00
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