Nadal Gets Revenge On De Minaur At Madrid Masters; Sinner, Swiatek, Gauff Win, Alcaraz Sun
- 21 Comments
Ten days ago Alex De Minaur got the better of Rafael Nadal in Barcelona. Today at the Madrid Masters, Rafa would have his revenge with a strong 7-6(6), 6-3 to register his first Top 20 win in nearly 2.5 years.
“I think for moments it has been a good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things, but still on and off,” Nadal told the ATP. “I’m super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex, play over two hours. It means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke, so I can’t thank enough everybody here.”
Nadal broke early before De Minaur was able to level. Rafa, still not at full power, brushed off some errors and forced the Australian to feel the weight of his shot and the weight of the capacity crowd, all cheering for the Spanish clay king.
Late in the second, Nadal began holding much easier and that gave him the big edge to start the breaker jumping out ahead 6-3 before De Minaur made things interesting.
In the second, Nadal quickly slammed the door breaking and then coasting to victory.
Nadal will get a day off before returning on Monday to take on Pedro Cachin who rallied late to beat Frances Tiafoe in three sets.
“I really believe that tennis hasn’t been an issue for the last two years. More the physical issues,” added Nadal. “If I am able to play weeks in a row and if I am able to play tennis, then I’m going to see how far I can go and how competitive I could be. But that’s not the case yet, just step by step and let’s see how I recover.”
Daniil Medvedev also rallied coming from a set to oust Italian Mateo Arnaldi 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Speaking of Italy, Jannik Sinner rolled past his countryman Lorenzo Sonego 6-0, 6-3.
Casper Ruud eased past Miomir Kecmanovic.
Two upsets hit as Stefanos Tsitsipas fell to Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro and 18-year-old Jakob Mensik scored a good win over Grigor Dimitrov in straights.
“I had a very good opponent on the other side of the net,” said Tsitsipas. “He was coming up with great shots and punishing me every single time I played short. I didn’t manage to get the depth of the court.
“He was very aggressive, very persistent. His first-serve percentage was pretty high, very good first-serve percentage,” he added. “I just wish I was able to return the way I did in the last game. I felt out of rhythm the entire match on my returns. I felt very unbalanced and my body was going all over the place.”
In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff both won in straight sets. Ons Jabeur, Madison Keys and Maria Sakkari were also winners.
“I’m happy with how I played,” Gauff said after a 6-4, 6-1 win over Dayana Yastremska. “In the first set, I wish I could have closed it sooner, but I was happy with being able to buckle down. And in the second, everything was smooth sailing as well.”
Tomorrow sees the return of defending champions Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka along with Alexander Zverev, Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev and Elena Rybakina.
You Might Like:
Bees Bombard Indian Wells But Can’t Stop Alcaraz, Sinner; Swiatek, Gauff A Win From Final
2024 French Open Day 10: QFs With Alcaraz v Tsitsipas, Sinner v Dimitrov; Swiatek, Gauff 1 Win Away
2025 Australian Open Day 2: Djokovic, Sinner, Alcaraz, Kyrgios, Gauff
Alcaraz Dominant In European Clay Debut At Madrid Masters; Nadal v De Minaur, Swiatek, Gauff
2024 French Open Day 6: Alcaraz v Korda, Gauff v Yastremska Plus Birthday Girl Swiatek, Sinner On Chatrier