Rafa Nadal, who returned to competition on Tuesday after more than three months of absence, was eliminated this Wednesday in the second round of the Barcelona Tournament by Australian Alex de Miñaur, 7-5 and 6-1.
The winner of 22 Grand Slam tournaments competed well but ended up accusing the lack of competitive rhythm against the Australian, number eleven in the world. “I got a win against Rafa on clay, which is something I never thought I would achieve in my career,” said De Miñaur after the match.
Nadal had easily won (6-2, 6-3) against Italian Flavio Cobolli on Tuesday in his return to competition since his injury in January in Brisbane, but he himself acknowledged that he was not the favorite against the Australian.
“In terms of tennis, he is in better shape than me, playing at high levels since the beginning of the season,” Nadal said this Wednesday after his defeat in what should be his last appearance at the Godó.
My last match
“It is normal that it has been my last match at the Godó,” said Nadal, who on several occasions has hinted that this should be his last season.
The Manacor native is the king of this competition, which he has won twelve times, to the point that the central court of the Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona bears his name. Nadal, who has fallen to number 644 in the world, started by seeing how his rival broke his initial game, but with 3-2 down, the Balearic managed to react to return the break and equal the score 3-3.
The Australian, fourth seed of the tournament, went through some moments of trouble, but with 5-5 on the scoreboard, De Miñaur chained eight points in a row to close the set 7-5. In the second set, De Miñaur gave greater intensity to his game that Nadal could not follow. “The game plan was to be aggressive and try to move Rafa as much as possible,” De Miñaur said.
The Australian broke Nadal’s serve in the third game to go up 2-1 and confirm 3-1 with his serve. The Spaniard suffered to keep up with the Australian’s pace, who launched into the attack and broke his rival’s serve again, who managed to save three break points, before De Miñaur went up 4-1 and confirmed 5-1 with his serve.
Continue gaining rhythm
Nadal should now continue his preparation with a view to Roland Garros next week at the Madrid Masters 1000. “I feel much more comfortable and happier today than a week and a half ago. I was able to play two matches, playing against a great player,” Nadal said after the match.
“This encourages me to continue, it tells me that if I can spend days on the circuit and continue practicing with players, on this surface I can be really competitive,” added the Spanish tennis player. Earlier, Norway’s Casper Ruud, number six in the world, beat Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-3, 6-4.
Finalist on Sunday in Monte Carlo after having eliminated Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, the Norwegian lost his serve twice in the first set and wasted 14 break points, but dominated the 110th in the world.
Ruud will face Australian Jordan Thompson for a place in the quarterfinals, who won this Wednesday against Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. “This season is much better than last year,” commented the Norwegian after his 25th win since the beginning of the year, eliminated in the round of 16 in Barcelona last year.
Spaniard Roberto Carballés also advanced to the round of 16 after beating Italian Lorenzo Musetti, 10th seed, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4. Carballés will face Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, number 7 in the world and recent champion in Monte Carlo, who won this Wednesday 6-4 and 7-5 against Austrian Sebastian Ofner (43rd).
