Rafael Nadal Gains Alex De Minaur Revenge In Madrid

Apr 28, 2024 10:38 AM, 5 news, 4 views

Rafael Nadal avenged his defeat to Alex de Minaur from Barcelona with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 victory over the Australian on Saturday to extend his stay in Madrid on his final appearance at his home tournament but admitted he still “needs time” to return to his competitive peak.

Nadal’s farewell tour has pitted him against De Minaur twice in as many weeks but this time the result was reversed as the 22-time Grand Slam champion advanced to a third-round meeting with Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.

In front of a capacity crowd that included the King of Spain, Felipe VI, French football icon Zinedine Zidane, and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, Nadal dug deep to dismiss the world number 11, despite admitting ahead of the tournament he was still struggling with numerous physical issues.

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“ I felt out of rhythm the entire match on my returns. I felt very disbalanced and just my body was going all over the place,

Stefanos Tsitsipas, 7 months

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“ I have been through some very difficult months when there were moments when I didn’t see the reason to continue, but I had the dream of experiencing feelings like this again and above all at home,

Rafael Nadal, 7 months

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“ I’m super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex, play over two hours,

Rafael Nadal, 7 months

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“ No, no... not yet (laughs). It needs time. For moments it was a good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things. But it’s still on and off. Super happy to be able to be competitive against a…

Rafael Nadal, 7 months