MADRID OPEN 2024: RAFAEL NADAL REGISTERS DOMINANT FIRST-ROUND WIN VS DARWIN BLANCH, SETS DE MINAUR REMATCH
Former World No. 1 Rafael Nadal made a winning start at the 2024 Madrid Open on Thursday, when he raced past 16-year-old wild card Darwin Blanch 6-1, 6-0 after 64 minutes.
The 37-year-old's weight of shot was too much for the American teen Blanch, who committed 27 unforced errors, including 20 off his forehand, in just his second ATP Tour match.
In what was the largest age gap (21 years, 117 days) between two opponents at ATP Masters 1000 level, Nadal won 59 per cent of his return points and did not face a breakpoint on his own serve.
"I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes. I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks," Nadal said.
"It worked well. I’m happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future," he added.
In just his sixth match of the season, Nadal freely moved around the court and showed no signs of physical limitations in front of a packed crowd at Manolo Santana Stadium.
The 36-time ATP Masters 1000 champion Nadal, who is making his 20th appearance in Madrid this fortnight, will next face 10th seed Alex de Minaur, who ousted the Spaniard last week in Barcelona. The 92-time tour-level titleist leads their Lexus ATP Head to Head series 3-2.
A five-time champion in Madrid, Nadal owns the most wins (57) at the Caja Magica, where the home favourite first claimed the title in 2008 and most recently triumphed in 2017.
"It’s great after how things have developed the last few years, every time I have the chance to be on court in this amazing stadium with an unconditional supportive crowd, it means a lot to me," Nadal said.
"Just trying to enjoy every moment. Tomorrow, one more day of practice here and then after tomorrow, on court again. That makes me feel great," he added.
Nadal is 4-2 on the season across three tournaments with his best result being a quarter-final appearance at the ATP 250 in Brisbane in January.
2024-04-25T18:42:40Z dg43tfdfdgfd
