Rafael Nadal avenged his defeat to Alex de Minaur from Barcelona with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 victory over the Australian on Saturday to extend his stay in Madrid on his final appearance at his home tournament but admitted he still “needs time” to return to his competitive peak.
Nadal’s farewell tour has pitted him against De Minaur twice in as many weeks but this time the result was reversed as the 22-time Grand Slam champion advanced to a third-round meeting with Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.
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In front of a capacity crowd that included the King of Spain, Felipe VI, French football icon Zinedine Zidane, and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, Nadal dug deep to dismiss the world number 11, despite admitting ahead of the tournament he was still struggling with numerous physical issues.
It was an impressive performance from the 37-year-old but he immediately dismissed the idea it was anywhere near his vintage form.
“No, not yet. It needs time,” said Nadal on court.
“To play over two hours means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke.
“Just step by step and let’s see how I recover.”
Five-time Madrid champion Nadal said he will not make a decision on playing at the French Open until after Rome which starts next week, and explained the key factor that would determine his participation.
“It’s not a thing about losing or winning. It’s about going on court there with the feeling that I can fight and I can be competitive,” said the record 14-time French Open champion.
“So if I am not able to go on court and dream, for me it doesn’t make sense to go. I prefer to stay with all the amazing memories that I have.”
As for De Minaur, his performance in the second set was branded “unspeakably horrendous” by American tennis commentator Ricky Dimon as he revealed his disappointment at his own performance.
“Conditions in Madrid make it trickier to play the way you wanna play,” he said.
“You play in Barcelona then all of a sudden this match over here everything doubles. All the outside noise doubles. I wish I would’ve played better but his level lifted and he was looking quite good out there.”