Nadal takes revenge with Madrid grudge win

Rafael Nadal took a huge step in his injury comeback scenario as the clay court icon scored a revenge win over Alex de Minaur on Saturday to progress to the Madrid Masters third round.

The 7-6  (6), 6-3 victory came barely a week after the 37-year-old who is playing only his third event of an injury-recovery season, lost to the 11th-ranked Australian in Barcelona.

Nadal owns five titles in the Spanish capital but has been fighting injury for much of the last two seasons.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner earned his first victory over a Top 20 opponent since November, 2022.

Nadal finished in two hours as de Minaur double-faulted on his opponent’s second match point in front of a madly pro-Nadal crowd at the Caja Magica.

But despite his second win in a row this week, Nadal is not yet ready to pronounce himself back to lethal form.

“I’m not back yet,, but for moments, there was a good level,” he said. “I was able to do positive things.

“I’m super-happy to be back competing again. We played over two hours, that means a lot to me.”

Nadal ended with 16 winners and 20 unforced errors, while de Minaur was 33 unforced.

The first set lasted an hour and a quarter, with Nadal seizing it on his fifth chance.

The crowd here broke to start the second set and came close to a double break; he had to be satisfied with a love game for 6-5 and a final break of his opponent to earn victory. 

“The last two years it has been about physical issues for me, not tennis’ he said. ” Let’s see if I can play weeks in a row.

‘Let’s see how far I can go and how I recover.”

With Stefanos Tsitsipas upset earlier, Nadal’s quarter of the draw has opened; the Spaniard next faces Pedro Cachin of Argentina.

Roger Parker

Recent Posts

Davis Cup Final to mark Nadal goodbye to tennis

Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…

3 weeks ago

Wimbledon lowers the boom on human linecalling

Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…

3 weeks ago

Djokovic rolls Cobolli as Shanghai fights to restore order

Novak Djokovic returned to action after waiting tow days to play as the rain-hit Shanghai…

4 weeks ago

Innocent umpiring error screws Stan in Shanghai

Stan Wawrinka may have been inadvertently short-changed during Monday's third-round loss at the Shanghai Masters…

4 weeks ago

Sinner sweeps Fritz to win US Open

Jannik Sinner schooled Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to win his second Grand Slam title…

2 months ago

Sabalenka wins Open title for Grand Slam hat-trick

Aryana Sabalenka completed a Grand Slam title hat-trick on Saturday as she fought from 5-3…

2 months ago