tennis
Rafael Nadal reaches third round in Madrid
Rafael Nadal is in the third round in Madrid. photo
© Manu Fernandez/AP/dpa
Revenge successful: After his defeat against Alex de Minaur in Barcelona, Rafael Nadal turned the tables in Madrid. The victory gives him momentum for the next Grand Slam tournament.
With the hard-fought victory, the 37-year-old also successfully took revenge for the second-round defeat against the Australian the previous week in Barcelona.
After Nadal had shown strong nerves in the tiebreak of the first set and converted the fifth set point, he immediately took serve from his opponent in the second round and ended the match after just over two hours. He wanted to get closer to his best form “step by step,” “let’s see how I recover now,” Nadal said afterwards. In the previous round he had clearly won the generational duel against Darwin Blanch from the USA, who was 21 years his junior.
Nadal in Paris again?
His performance on clay in Madrid is also likely to have a big impact on Nadal’s decision whether or not to play at the French Open, which begins on May 26. “I won’t play in Paris if I feel like I do today,” the 14-time French Open winner said on Wednesday, causing a stir. Nadal, who has repeatedly been set back by injuries, wants to end his career in 2024.
Three German tennis players also reached the third round in Madrid on Friday. Olympic champion Alexander Zverev is now fighting against Denis Shapovalov from Canada for the round of 16 ticket, while Daniel Altmaier is waiting for the strong Pole Hubert Hurkacz. Jan-Lennard Struff seems inspired by his first tournament victory on the ATP tour last weekend in Munich and has good chances going into the duel with Frenchman Ugo Humbert.