Rafael Nadal made his last appearance in the Spanish city on Thursday, easily defeating 16-year-old Darwin Blanch in straight sets to go to the Madrid Open second round.
While continuing his injury return, the 37-year-old destroyed his American opponent 6-1, 6-0 in one hour and three minutes, despite stating this week that he was not totally healthy.
The 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal anticipates that 2024 will be his last year competing in tennis, and that this will be his final trip to the Madrid Open.
Alex de Minaur defeated him in the second round of the Barcelona Open, when he made his first competitive appearance since January.
As the Spaniard looks to regain his form and fitness before Rome and the French Open, where he is the record 14-time winner, the Australian will also be Nadal’s opponent in the second round in Madrid.
Nadal stated, “I want to perform as well as I can and I want to be competitive against De Minaur.”
“I can only say thank you, because it has always been a pleasure to play in front of all of you. The support I’ve received here since I played is hard to compare to anywhere else.”
In the second game, Nadal overcame the overwhelming and initially intimidated American, who was ranked 1,028th in the world.
Blanch scored in the fourth game, but after the young player blasted a forehand into the net in the sixth, Nadal broke again.
At the beginning of the second set, Blanch turned down two break points, but Nadal won the third to consolidate his lead. After a thrilling rally for a 3-0 advantage, the ruthless tennis legend broke again, and again when Blanch went long to make it 5-0.
Nadal prevailed on his second match point thanks to a strong serve that Blanch was unable to stop.
Nadal seeding for FO is not taken into account, according to MauresmoAmelie Mauresmo, the tournament director of Roland Garros, stated on Thursday that Rafael Nadal, the former world number one, is not expected to receive a seed at the French Open next month.
The Spaniard, who has won the French Open a record 14 times, stated on Wednesday that he was unsure if he would be able to participate.
A hip flexor injury kept the 37-year-old Nadal out of the game for over a year, and as a result, he fell to 512 in the rankings. Nadal is a 22-time Grand Slam winner.
Because of his protected ranking, he is able to enter the French Open main draw; nonetheless, the 32 players with the highest rankings are seeded, and his ranking has no bearing on that.
Nadal might be matched up with elite players in the tournament’s opening stages if there was no seeding.
Of the four Grand Slams, Wimbledon was the only one (until 2020) to take into account a player’s prior results on grass as well as their ATP and WTA rankings.
Players like Rafael Nadal criticized Wimbledon’s seeding system before it was changed.
When reporters questioned Mauresmo about Nadal’s seeding at the French Open this year, he replied, “Right now, it’s not a topic.”Wimbledon used it for a very, very long time, and although there were undoubtedly certain benefits, we also witnessed all the drawbacks. It’s not on the table at this time.Above all, we’re crossing our fingers for him—of course, for us too. We’re closely monitoring his progress on the court. We communicate with his group. It is entirely up to him whether or not there is a tribute. We will do as he requests.
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