Winning the Second Round, Nadal Was Welcomed as a Champion

Rafael Nadal showed a competitive game in the second round of the Madrid Masters. He received a standing ovation from the audience.

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Audience members competed for Rafael Nadal's signature after Nadal defeated Alex de Minaur in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid tournament on Saturday (27/4/2024).

MADRID, SATURDAY —Rafael Nadal just passed the second round of the tennis ATP Masters tournament 1000 Madrid on Saturday (27/4/2024). However, he was greeted enthusiastically by around 12,500 spectators in the stadium because he showed the best performance in 2024 in body condition during his final year competing in the professional tennis arena.

The response consisted of applause and shouts of "Rafa! Rafa!” heard since he entered the Manolo Santana Stadium, La Caja Magica, Madrid, Spain, to fight Alex de Minaur in the second round. The atmosphere in the stadium "exploded" like in a football stadium when Nadal beat the eighth seed with a score of 7-6 (6), 6-3.

If the victory had been achieved when Nadal was at his best since 2008, the audience reception at the stadium might not have been as great as it was on that Saturday afternoon local time.

Also read: Step by Step, Nadal is on his way to the finish

The audience at the stadium, including Spanish King Felipe VI and former French footballer who used to play for Real Madrid, Zinedine Zidane, gave their appreciation as Nadal played well for the first time in 2024. Moreover, this became Nadal's last appearance in the Madrid Masters as he plans to retire as a professional tennis player in 2024.

The victory not only avenged the defeat to De Minaur in the second round of the ATP 500 Barcelona last week. Nadal's performance is seen as giving hope that he can still last long in tournaments compared to the two tournaments before the Madrid Masters. Nadal made it to the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 Brisbane in January and the second round in Barcelona.

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Rafael Nadal celebrates his victory over Alex de Minaur in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid, Saturday (27/4/2024).

Hip injury that has been affecting him since 2023, combined with a stomach muscle injury, caused him to withdraw from several tournaments that were already scheduled for this year. These tournaments are the Australian Open Grand Slam, Indian Wells Masters, and Monte Carlo Masters.

He has not even confirmed that he will appear at the French Open arena on May 26-June 9, the peak of competition on clay courts. In fact, the tournament was very meaningful because he won it 14 times.

It still takes a lot of time to be able to play at a high level. At the moment, I am only trying to progress step by step, striving to be as competitive as possible.

The level of performance shown against De Minaur in Madrid has not changed Nadal's opinion about the French Open. Against the Australian tennis player, Nadal showed the best shots which have long been known as his strengths, one of which is the cross backhand.

Also read: Nadal's enthusiasm is not commensurate with his frail body

One of his backhand crosses flew straight into the corner of De Minaur's court, giving him match point. This stroke, apart from the forehand top spin, is also Nadal's advantage because he plays tennis with his left arm even though Nadal is not left-handed. With equally good left and right arm strength, Nadal can also do a hard backhand cross at an angle that is difficult for his opponent to reach.

Another factor that has long been unseen when facing De Minaur is his high determination. Even though he did not have high expectations when playing against the Australian tennis player, Nadal's body language and facial expression showed his high level of competitiveness. Several times he shouted while clenching his fists when scoring difficult shots.

ARP/THOMAS COEX

Rafael Nadal appeared competitive when he beat Alex de Minaur in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid tournament, Saturday (27/4/2024).

Nevertheless, the 37-year-old tennis player believes that his performance is far from his best ability. Nadal only feels happy because he was able to survive in the two-hour match.

"It still takes a lot of time to be able to play at a high level. Right now, I'm just trying to take it step by step, trying to be as competitive as possible. Being able to play in Madrid with the reception from the audience as earlier makes me very happy," he said in an interview with Tennis Channel.

In his last year in the professional tennis arena, Nadal did not set a championship target. He only wants to take advantage of the opportunity to appear for the last time at every tournament.

Another thing that he desires is to be able to play in front of his son, Rafael Nadal Jr. The 1.5-year-old boy and the Nadal family always follow Nadal's journey in every tournament this year.

"Even though he doesn't understand anything yet, my goal is for him to be able to watch me compete for as long as possible. It's a difficult desire to realize, but I am happy because my family and team are always around me," said Nadal, who will face Argentine tennis player Pedro Cachin in the third round.

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Spanish King Felipe VI (center) watched the match between Rafael Nadal and Alex de Minaur in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid tournament on Saturday (27/4/2024).

From the ranks of seeded tennis players, Stefanos Tsitsipas, who was seeded sixth, was eliminated by qualifier Thiego Monteiro. Tsitsipas lost with a score of 4-6, 4-6.

The Greek tennis player was unable to maintain his performance after winning the Monte Carlo Masters. After becoming a champion for the third time in Monte Carlo, Tsitsipas lost in the ATP 500 Barcelona tournament and was then eliminated in the second round in Madrid.

Other top players such as Jannik Sinner (1), Carlos Alcaraz (2), Daniil Medvedev (3), Alexander Zverev (4), and Casper Ruud (5) will compete in the third round. In Sunday's match, Alcaraz will face Thiago Seyboth Wild, while Zverev will play against Denis Shapovalov.

Swiatek won by a landslide

In the women's singles competition at the WTA 1000 level, the world number one, Iga Swiatek, only lost two games to advance to the third round. Swiatek beat Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-1 to face the host player, Sara Sorribes Tormo, in the third round.

Swiatek is one of the best female tennis players on clay courts. In the 2000s, there were only five tennis players with a winning percentage of over 80 percent in clay court tournaments, including Swiatek (87 percent). The other four players are Justine Henin, Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Lindsay Davenport. With these records, Swiatek is always the favorite to win in every tournament on slow-paced courts.

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Iga Swiatek against Sorana Cirstea in the second round of the WTA 1000 Madrid tournament, Saturday (27/4/2024).

Swiatek arrived in Madrid after winning the WTA 500 Stuttgart. These tournaments were part of the warm-up for the French Open, the Grand Slam that the Polish tennis player won in 2020, 2022, and 2023.

Her strongest competitor in the clay tournament is Elena Rybakina, who will also compete in the third round. In Sunday's match, the Kazakh tennis player, who has won three titles in 2024, will face Egyptian tennis player Mayar Sherif. (AFP/AP)