Rafael Nadal continues injury comeback with crushing Madrid Open win over Darwin Blanch - 'Trying to enjoy every moment'
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Updated 26/04/2024 at 08:41 GMT
Rafael Nadal said earlier this week that in his current state, he would not be able to play in the upcoming French Open. But the Spaniard showed no sign of fitness issues during his commanding 6-1 6-0 victory over 16-year-old Darwin Blanch in the Madrid Open first round on Thursday. Nadal will face Alex de Minaur in the final 32 - a rematch of their Barcelona clash earlier this month.
Highlights: Nadal eases past teenager Blanch
Rafael Nadal continued his comeback from injury with a commanding 6-1 6-0 victory over unseeded 16-year-old Darwin Blanch at the Madrid Open on Thursday.
The 14-time French Open winner was dominant throughout with seemingly no fitness issues, despite earlier this week admitting he has doubts over his participation in the French capital.
The test against Blanch was a continuation in Nadal's clay preparations and served as a good fitness test with the teenager looking to challenge the Spaniard at the back of the court. Nadal responded astutely to dispatch the American within one hour and six minutes of play.
Speaking after the match, Nadal said: "Today I played against an opponent with a great future in front (of him), but today he's still making mistakes. So I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks and (it) worked well. So just happy to be through and wish him all the best for the future."
After losing the first game to love, Blanch instantly responded with two aces to open his first service game. Despite a positive and aggressive approach, the American could not match Nadal's return game and was broken to 30, allowing the Spaniard to seize an advantage.
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‘Means a lot to me’ – Nadal reacts after beating Blanch in Madrid
Blanch, who received a wild card to the Madrid tournament and is ranked outside of the top 1000, picked up his first game to make it 3-1, holding Nadal to love.
Nadal continued his clay season and comeback from injury but doubts remain over his participation in the upcoming French Open. A hip issue kept the Spaniard sidelined for most of last season, and the Madrid Open is just his third tournament this year after Brisbane in January and Barcelona earlier this month.
But fitness was not a visible issue on court against Blanch, as Nadal's years of pedigree culminated in a dominant display which saw the former world No. 1 wrap up the opening set within 28 minutes as he cruised to a 6-1 scoreline.
Blanch, taking part in just his second major ATP event, displayed moments of quality but struggled to cope with the ferocity of Nadal's display and dropped 15 unforced errors in the opening set.
The 16-year-old threatened a response at the beginning of the second set, taking Nadal to deuce with some even baseline exchanges, but was again made to rue unforced errors as Nadal broke the youngster's opening service game.
At 2-0 down and 40-40, Blanch hit a stunning cross-court forehand after a well-contested rally to open up advantage. Nadal, though, navigated the situation superbly to overturn the advantage and break the youngster's serve for the fourth time in the match.
Blanch continued to try to better Nadal from the back of the court but the Spaniard's class shone through in a dominant second set which saw the 16-year-old fail to pick up a game, despite going to deuce on three occasions.
Nadal hailed the "unconditionally supportive crowd" which were firmly behind him in his return to Madrid.
"Well, it's great," he said. "For me, after how things... developed in the last few years, every time that I had a chance to be on court, on this amazing stadium with unconditionally supportive crowd. It means a lot to me.
"So I'm just trying to enjoy every moment. And tomorrow, one more day of practice here and after tomorrow again on court. So that makes me feel great."
Nadal advances to the final 32 where he faces Alex de Minaur, a rematch of the battle in Barcelona which saw the Argentinian put a dent in Nadal's return from injury with a 7-5 6-1 win.
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