Nadal downs De Minaur for statement Madrid win

Rafael Nadal showed sustained flashes of his vintage best in a statement second-round win against Alex de Minaur at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday. The Spaniard thrilled his home fans in a 7-6(6), 6-3 victory, his first win against a Top 20 opponent in the PIF ATP Rankings since the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals.

In his second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with De Minaur in as many weeks, Nadal reversed a straight-sets defeat in Barcelona with an inspired performance at the Caja Magica. The five-time Madrid champion produced a dogged display full of thumping baseline winners and trademark fist pumps, repeatedly wowing a crowd that included King Felipe VI and football stars Zinedine Zidane and Vinicius Jr.

While Nadal was quick to deny that the old Rafa is back, he was happy to advance on home soil.

"No, not yet. It needs time," he said with a laugh. "I think for moments it has been a good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things, but still on and off.

"I'm super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex, play over two hours. It means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke, so I can't thank enough everybody here."

Roaring back the years 💪

5-time champion @RafaelNadal rolls on in the Spanish capital 7-6(6), 6-3 past de Minaur @MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/M7Crcz8u12

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 27, 2024

Nadal followed a breathtaking 77-minute opening set with an instant break in the second set and did not face a break point in seeing out the victory. After a slew of hot shots dotted the opening set, Nadal was more steady in the second until he brought up match points with a stunning backhand passing shot. His place in the Madrid third round was secured on a De Minaur double fault, his third of the match according to Infosys ATP Stats.

After competing for more than two hours in the victory, and despite his improving level on the court, Nadal cautioned that his physical health remains his biggest concern.

"I really believe that tennis hasn't been an issue for the last two years. More the physical issues," he said. "If I am able to play weeks in a row and if I am able to play tennis, then I'm going to see how far I can go and how competitive I could be. But that's not the case yet, just step by step and let's see how I recover."

By recording consecutive ATP Masters 1000 wins for the first time since the 2022 Madrid event, Nadal denied De Minaur's bid to become the second player to defeat him in consecutive weeks since Novak Djokovic in 2011 (Madrid, Rome). Similarly, the Aussie was bidding to become the first player to beat Nadal in consecutive tournaments since Roger Federer in 2017 (Indian Wells, Miami). De Minaur fell to 11-3 in his opening rounds on clay since the start of the 2022 season.

Next up for Nadal is a third-round meeting with Argentina's Pedro Cachin, who upset Frances Tiafoe 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4 earlier on Saturday.