Step by Step, Nadal Towards the Finish
Rafael Nadal wins the first round of the Madrid Masters easily. However, he does not have a big target in this event.
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Rafael Nadal hits the ball while competing against Darwin Blanch at the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid tournament, Thursday (25/4/2024).
MADRID, FRIDAY —Rafael Nadal played his third tournament this year by appearing at the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid. As when competing in the previous two tournaments, there was no big target for the former world number one tennis player. He just wants to enjoy every moment of every last tournament of his career.
The 2024 season will be Nadal's last in professional tennis since he started playing it 23 years ago. If there is no miracle, his career will likely end with 92 titles and being at the top of the world rankings for 209 weeks.
Of the 92 titles, there are 22 Grand Slam titles, 14 of which came from the clay courts of Roland Garros, Paris, the venue for the French Open. In 2024, the French Open will be held May 26-June 9.
The tournament was initially estimated to be a stage for Nadal to bid farewell to professional competition. However, as he said before the Madrid Masters, his body condition, which has experienced numerous injuries, can easily change.
Also read: Nadal's enthusiasm is not commensurate with his frail body
Nadal even said that if the French Open arrives in the current condition, he will not force himself to appear there.
Rafael Nadal when competing against Darwin Blanch at the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid tournament, Thursday (25/4/2024).
Although the tennis player, nicknamed the "King of Clay", did not confirm where he will bid farewell, his fans may be relieved as Nadal has announced that he will play in the Laver Cup tournament in Berlin, Germany, on September 20-22.
The Laver Cup is a men's team tournament that brings together teams consisting of players from Europe and players from outside Europe who join the World Team. Nadal will join three other tennis players who have already announced that they will play for Team Europe, namely Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Alexander Zverev.
I always love performing in front of the audience here. The support I have received since my first performance here is hard to compare with anywhere else.
In addition, there is still a chance for Nadal to compete in Roland Garros if he is absent from the French Open, namely in the Paris 2024 Olympics on July 26-August 11. However, he must first apply to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) since he has not played in the team championship of the Davis Cup in the last two years, which is a requirement for male tennis players to be able to compete in the Olympics.
Also read: Nadal Returns, Djokovic Resigns
Nadal's opinion about the French Open remains unchanged even though he has won the first round of the Madrid Masters. The decision to compete or not in the French Open will be made during or after the Roma Masters tournament on May 8-19. The director of the French Open tournament, Amelie Mauresmo, also hopes that Nadal will be in good condition as the tournament organizers want to welcome him.
In the match at Manolo Santana Field, La Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain, Thursday (25/4/2024), Nadal beat the 16 year old wild card recipient, Darwin Blanch, with a score of 6-1, 6-0 in just 1 hour 4 minutes. Nadal said he was quite helped by Blanch, who he considered to have potential, but still made a lot of mistakes.
Rafael Nadal (right) shakes hands with Darwin Blanch after competing in the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid tournament, Thursday (25/4/2024).
Nadal does not have a specific target for results that he wants to achieve at the Madrid Masters, a tournament he has won five times. The 37-year-old tennis player even said he would be amazed if he could defeat the tenth seed, Alex de Minaur, in the second round. The Australian tennis player defeated Nadal in the second round of the ATP 500 Barcelona last week.
Just like in Barcelona and ATP 250 Brisbane in January, Nadal just wants to enjoy the last moments before retirement. Moreover, on every trip this year, he has been accompanied by his son, Rafael Nadal Jr., who is 1.5 years old. Rafa Jr., who often carries a tennis racket with colors like his father's, always gets media attention.
Also read: Nadal Returns to Compete in Barcelona
"I always enjoy performing in front of the audience here. The support I have received since playing here for the first time is hard to compare with anywhere else," said Nadal in front of the audience at the stadium after defeating Blanch.
Nadal stated that in every opportunity he had to compete this year, he tried to be as competitive as possible. Therefore, the main factor that he considers when participating in tournaments is the condition of his body after suffering a hip injury in 2023. The injury only allowed him to appear at the Australian Open at the beginning of the year.
Rafael Nadal celebrates his victory over Darwin Blanch at the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid tournament, Thursday (25/4/2024).
Swiatek advances, Osaka loses
In the women's tennis competition in Madrid at the WTA 1000 level, the top seed, Iga Swiatek, advanced to the third round after beating China's Wang Xiyu, 6-1, 6-4. Swiatek arrived in Madrid as the favorite to win because she is a tennis player who masters clay courts. However, this does not mean that Swiatek will become champion easily.
In the competition at the WTA 500 Stuttgart tournament last week, Swiatek was defeated by Elena Rybakina in the semifinals. The Kazakh tennis player, who is one of Swiatek's tough rivals, eventually became the champion.
The WTA Madrid is a WTA 1000 tournament held on clay courts that has not yet been won by Swiatek. After reaching the third round in 2021 and then missing the following year, the Polish tennis player made it to the final in 2023, but lost to Aryna Sabalenka.
"I like this place and feel more comfortable performing here this year," commented Swiatek in response to questions about her chances of becoming the champion in Madrid.
The third seed, Cori "Coco" Gauff, also won in the second round. She defeated Arantxa Rus with ”double bagel”, 6-0, 6-0, in just 51 minutes. Fifth seeds, Maria Sakkari, Ons Jabeur (8), and Jelena Ostapenko (9) also received tickets to the third round.
Iga Swiatek when competing against Wang Xiyu at the WTA 1000 Madrid tournament, Thursday (25/4/2024).
Meanwhile, the former world number one in women's singles, Naomi Osaka, was stopped by Liudmila Samsonova in the second round. In a match lasting 2 hours 22 minutes, Samsonova won with a score of 6-2, 4-6, 7-5.
"Of course, I cannot say that I am happy with this result, but I am pleased with my performance because I was able to struggle in a match like that. I learned a lot from that game even though I am still sad for losing," said Osaka, who just played again at the beginning of 2024 after being sidelined from tournaments for 15 months due to mental health issues and pregnancy. (AFP)
