Italian Lorenzo Sonego is defeated by first seed Jannik Sinner, while Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro defeats sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
In the second round of the Madrid Open on Saturday, Rafael Nadal resumed his comeback against Alex de Minaur, winning 7-6(6) 6-3.
Last week, the five-time Madrid winner was defeated by De Minaur in Barcelona; but, this time, in front of an even more partisan audience, the 37-year-old defeated the tenth-seeded Australian.
Following his performance, the audience stood to applaud him. “The mood here is just for fun so just can’t say enough everybody here,” Nadal remarked.
Nadal had the first opportunity to lead 2-0 in the first set, but as soon as the Spaniard engaged in a heated argument with the umpire, De Minaur responded. When informed that he had not contested a call in a timely manner, Nadal was obviously agitated.
In the tiebreak, Nadal stormed to a 6-2 lead before De Minaur stormed back to equal at 6-6. Nadal looked spooked by the exchange. De Minaur then broke to love to lead 4-3, but Nadal rallied and broke again to level.
After regaining his composure to win the first set, Nadal repeated the feat in the second set, breaking serve in the opening game and winning easily to the cheers of the Madrid crowd.
It means a lot to me to be able to play for two hours and compete against such a great player as Alex,” Nadal remarked.
Nadal’s January comeback after nearly a year away with a hip ailment was cut short by a thigh problem, and his most recent return in Barcelona was cut short by De Minaur in the second round of what would likely be his last season.
Nadal stated, “I really think that the last two years haven’t been a problem with tennis, more with the physical issues.”
Nadal – De Minaur | Madrid 2024 pic.twitter.com/hhuGh8FPHS
— Rafael Nadal Best Shots (@nadalbestshots) April 28, 2024I’m going to see how far I can go and how competitive I can be if I can play tennis for weeks at a time, but for now, let’s take it step by step and evaluate my recovery.
After Argentine beat American Frances Tiafoe 7-6(1) 3-6 6-4, Rafael Nadal will next play Pedro Cachin.
Sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas was eliminated 6-4 6-4 by Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro, while first seed Jannik Sinner easily defeated fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego, winning 6-0 6-3.
Daniil Medvedev, the third seed from Russia, overcame a set disadvantage to defeat Matteo Arnaldi of Italy 2-6 6-4 6-4. He will now play Sebastian Korda of the United States in the third round.
Read More: MLS: Meet Inter Miami’s only Brazilian, teammate of Messi and Suarez
