RAFAEL NADAL HAS A DRAW FULL OF DANGERS IN MADRID
Knowing that Rafael Nadal will play the Mutua Madrid Open is in itself a great news for tennis fans.
But I think what everyone is hoping obviously to see the legendary Spaniard competitive, in order to be able to admire his tennis at an optimal level one last time, before the end of his career.
Nadal was drawn in the top-half of the Mutua Madrid Open draw, the same as Jannik Sinner, and will face wild card Darwin Blanch in the first round.
In the event that he were to overcome the American, the Majorcan would have the possibility of taking revenge against Alex De Minaur. The Australian defeated him in Barcelona with a score of 7-5, 6-1. The highest-ranked player in Nadal's third round is Frances Tiafoe, who has never really shown her best tennis on clay.
The dream of Spanish tennis fans is to witness a round of 16 final between Rafa and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek is fresh from the victory in Monte-Carlo and the final reached in Barcelona.
In a hypothetical quarter-final, there are players like Daniil Medvedev, Ben Shelton or Sebastian Korda in his path. A challenge with Jannik Sinner could only materialize in Madrid in the semi-final.
In short, a very tough draw for the Spanish champion, who, if he were to reach the tournament in a better physical condition than in Barcelona, could bring great joy to his fans.
The main draw of the Masters 1000 in Madrid:
"I leave convinced that I have taken a step forward. I have to give myself the chance to leave everything and die for it in a few weeks, or at least try. In Madrid I will try to do a little better, in Rome even more. And in Paris be what God wants. It's time to try."
At the end of the match lost against Alex de Minaur at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona, Rafael Nadal explained well what his plan is in the coming weeks.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion did not appear in great condition, but he revealed that he will try to make significant progress tournament after tournament and then throw his heart over the obstacle at the Roland Garros.
Nadal through the end of his career
Nadal is now in the final months of his career, as announced by himself. Probably in 2024 he will say goodbye to tennis at the end of a legendary career. The last year and a half saw him constantly struggling with injuries and physical problems that constantly tormented him, as well as forcing him to miss practice the last year and a half of court.
After months of waiting and several withdrawals, Rafa returned to the field in the ATP tournament in Barcelona, won his first match against Flavio Cobolli and lost in the second round against Alex De Minaur.
Rafa only fought in the first set and then practically stopped and the match highlighted a rather rough physical condition for a tennis player who has repeatedly declared that he only wants to play competitively.
By his own admission, it is not possible at the moment, but Nadal will try to play the next tournaments to evaluate his condition, starting in Madrid.
Through a recent Instagram live broadcast, Nadal spoke about his dreams, both in life and related to his career and was quite explicit.
"What are my dreams inside and outside the world of tennis? Well on a professional level I just need to play and be present in the next tournaments, in terms of results I don't ask for anything, I have achieved more than I could have ever dreamed of, so absolutely I don't ask for anything.
As far as my private life is concerned, it's enough for me to live everyday life, see my family grow and share this growth process with them and for me it's also about learning see places together," he explained.
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2024-04-23T10:14:12Z dg43tfdfdgfd