Rafael Nadal takes revenge on Alex de Minaur in Madrid. tennis news

Rafael Nadal avenged his defeat to Barcelona’s Alex de Minaur with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 victory over the Australian on Saturday and extended his stay in Madrid for his final appearance at his home tournament. but admitted that he still “needs time to return to his competitive peak”. Nadal’s farewell tour pitted him against De Minaur twice in as many weeks, but this time the result was reversed as the 22-time Grand Slam champion reached a third-round meeting with Argentina’s Pedro Cachín. In front of a huge crowd that included the King of Spain, French football icon Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, Nadal dug deep to dismiss the world number 11, despite admitting before the tournament that He was still struggling with many physical problems. ,

It was an impressive performance from the 37-year-old but he immediately dismissed the idea that it was anywhere near his old form.

“No, not yet. It needs time,” Nadal said on the court.

“I think the level of tennis has been good for some time now, I’ve been able to do some positive things, but in between. Playing more than two hours means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke .

“I really believe tennis hasn’t been an issue for the last two years, more physical issues. If I’m able to play consecutive weeks, I can see how competitive I can be. That’s not the case yet.” “I’m just going to take it step by step and see how I get better.”

Five-time Madrid champion Nadal led 2–0 early on, but he controversially lost the lead as chair umpire Fergus Murphy refused to challenge a ball from De Minaur that the Spaniard misjudged. I went.

Murphy said that Nadal had not clearly indicated his intention to challenge, while Nadal argued that he had come to a full stop and circled the mark with his racquet, which he believed. That was enough to start the challenge.

Despite Nadal’s protests, and his request to speak to the observer, Murphy did not relent, and De Minaur’s long ball was broken back by the Australian and equalised.

The pair broke once more before entering a tiebreak, with Nadal taking a 6–2 lead. De Minaur saved four consecutive set points but Nadal converted his fifth chance to win the first set after an hour and 16 minutes of play.

The second frame started with a service break which went in Nadal’s favor and he soon led 3–1.

De Minaur fought hard, but could not create any break point chances on Nadal’s serve and the match ended on a double fault by the Australian, his 33rd unforced error of the competition.

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