Rafa Nadal gives himself a chance at a rematch
Rafa Nadal passes the first round in Madrid
It's already payback time for Rafa Nadal at the Madrid Masters 1000: in fact, the Mallorcan swept aside in the first round of the tournament in the Spanish capital the very young (16 years old) American Darwin Blanch, with a clear 6-1, 6-0, and thus arrives without much effort to the second round, where he will face Alex De Minaur, his executioner in Barcelona.
Nadal, who currently holds the No. 512 position in the world rankings after an endless series of physical problems, had been defeated in Catalonia by the Australian 7-5, 6-1, thus missing out on access to the round of 16. A few days later, the former No. 1 can therefore take sporting revenge on the same opponent, who was able to skip the first round being among the top 32 seeds (to be precise, his seeding number è the 10th).
Before the match against the American, Nadal had confirmed that this year's will be his last appearance in Madrid: "I don't think I can play at 100 percent, but it's important to be able to play for the last time in Madrid. It means a lot to me to play on this field where I have had some great moments throughout my career".
"The’goalè to finish the tournament physically intact. In sports things can change quickly, I am here to give myself a chance and find better and better feelings. I will play and enjoy myself in a place where I have received unparalleled love" he had then added the 37-year-old, winner (among other tournaments) of 14 Roland Garros, 4 US Open, 2 Australian Open, 2 Wimbledon tournaments, 2 ATP Finals and a gold at the Olympic Games.
