Mutua Madrid Open: Rafael Nadal wins emotional and dramatic match against Alex de Minaur

27.04.2024, 20:38 skysports.com

Rafael Nadal rolled back the years to claim an emotional and dramatic victory against Alex de Minaur at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday.

The home favourite showed flashes of his vintage best in a statement second-round win to thrill his home fans in a 7-6 (7-6) 6-3 win.

Nadal reversed a straight-sets defeat in Barcelona against the Australian with an inspired performance at the Caja Magica in front of the King of Spain and Real Madrid stars present and former in Vinicius Junior and Zinedine Zidane.

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After breaking the De Minaur serve in the second game, he was furious when the umpire ruled he had not challenged in time in the next game with a shot over the baseline from the Australian missed by the officials.

De Minaur broke back and briefly had the advantage at 4-3 but back came Nadal, and the home favourite finally took a fifth chance in the tie-break after being pegged back from 6-2.

He celebrated with a triple fist pump and began the second set on the front foot, producing some vintage winners and keeping De Minaur scrambling around the court.

By the end of the match, Nadal was in total control and he clinched his first top-20 victory since 2022 when De Minaur double-faulted, sparking jubilant scenes in the Spanish capital.

How Nadal won a pulsating encounter at the Madrid Open...

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Asked whether the old Nadal was back, the 37-year-old replied: "No, not yet. Next time! Today, I showed a good level of tennis and I was able to do positive things.

"I'm super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex, playing over two hours, it means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke.

"If I am able to play weeks in a row, then I'm going to see how far I can go and how competitive I could be. That's not the case yet, step by step and let's see how I recover."

Nadal will next face Argentina's Pedro Cachin, who defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 6-4.

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Colin Fleming on Sky Sports Tennis summed up Nadal's performance by saying: "The King of Spain in attendance but it's the King of Clay who reigns in the Magic Box.

"He just grew in strength to a point where at the climax he was completely dominant, hitting the ball as well as he has in recent times.

"The body holding up. It's a special day in one of the most special careers we have ever witnessed."

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Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro produced the upset of the tournament so far after he downed in-form Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4 with a stunning second-round performance.

Greek star Tsitsipas entered the match with a 10-1 record on clay for season, including a third title in Monte Carlo, but the world No 118 powered 24 winners to clinch a stunning win.

"For sure one of the biggest wins of my career," said Monteiro. "I knew it was a really tough match and I tried to just believe in myself all the time. I was feeling really good today on the court. With these conditions, I usually like to play a lot on clay and at altitude. I've played three matches already so I had a little bit of rhythm and confidence, so I just fought to the end and believed I could win this match."

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World No 1 Iga Swiatek advanced to the fourth round after defeating Romania's Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-1 to improve her season record to 26-4.

Already a champion at two of the four WTA 1000 events of the season, Poland's Swiatek is bidding to win her first Madrid title.

It is the only European clay tournament at the WTA 500 level or above that she has yet to win.

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Jannik Sinner downed fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-0 6-3 in the second round to improve to 5-0 against his countryman and 13-0 against fellow Italian players.

The Australian Open champion is chasing his fourth title of the season after winning at Melbourne Park and Rotterdam and Miami - all hard-court events.

Just one of his 13 career titles has come on clay, at the Croatia Open in Umag a couple of years ago.

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