Rafa Nadal regains vitality to continue playing in Madrid | The truth

However, the tribute will have to wait for next week, since Nadal regained his vitality, played a great match to beat De Miñaur, 7-6 (6) and 6-3, and will play again on Monday, against the Argentine Pedro Cachín. Nadal is back. The winner of 22 Grand Slam titles and former world number one resurfaced in the second round to not yet say goodbye to the Madrid Masters, in a confrontation in which Nadal lasted two hours without discomfort. Nadal was Nadal again against the world number 11 and will continue playing in the Caja Mágica.

«I have had many difficult months at a professional level, waking up with the hope of living an afternoon like this. Thank you all for making me feel this. “I fail, but the Madrid public never fails,” Nadal congratulated himself. “For me it means a lot to have managed to play the entire match,” acknowledged the Spaniard after his emotional victory against De Miñaur. “There is room for improvement,” Nadal stressed after resisting two hours and performing at a good level.

On a packed Manolo Santana court, in front of 14,000 spectators, including King Felipe, the match began with palpable intensity, and Nadal quickly took the lead by breaking De Miñaur's serve in the first game. However, in the next exchange, an argument between Nadal and the linesman added an unexpected twist. The Spaniard requested a review of Hawkeye, but the judge had already awarded the point to De Minaur. Despite Nadal's gestures indicating the opposite, the judge upheld his decision. Faced with such controversy, Nadal, indignant, even asked for the supervisor's intervention, although his request was not attended to.

That crucial moment marked a change of direction in the game. De Minaur managed to equalize the score and, on the next serve, Nadal recomposed himself to ensure a game without giving up points. Although the situation seemed to get complicated, Nadal demonstrated his determination by breaking his rival's serve again on his first attempt. The atmosphere on the court ignited as the stands erupted with joy, and Nadal, inspired, began to display his powerful forehand and enthusiastically celebrate each point won.

As the set ended, the tension on the court was palpable. Each of the tennis players made an effort to maintain their level of play, knowing that the tie-break would decide the course of the first round. It was at that moment that Nadal managed a small break on De Minaur's first serve, but the Australian resisted with determination, maintaining his composure.

With four set balls

In this 'tie-break' the essence of the best Nadal was proven. With impressive tenacity, he won points with grueling rallies, displaying his ability to defend himself even in seemingly losing situations, as he demonstrated with a masterful lob. The Manacor player continued to press, got another break and approached victory in that set with four set points in his hands.

However, fate seemed to have other plans, because he wasted all four. On his first chance, Nadal committed an unexpected double fault, allowing De Minaur to keep hope of a recovery alive. The Australian demonstrated his resilience, bravely defending two more set points on his serve. But Nadal was unwilling to give in and, with characteristic perseverance, forced a fifth set opportunity.

The tension on the court was palpable as the Spaniard prepared his backhand for what would be the decisive point. With a perfectly executed shot that found the line, Nadal finally secured the set 7-6 after one hour and 16 minutes of an intense and exciting battle.

Very solid

The second set began with Nadal looking very solid, breaking De Minaur's first serve. The Spaniard consolidated his advantage by confirming the break and taking the lead, while the Australian struggled to stay afloat amid the vibrant atmosphere of the stands and the pressure imposed by a Balearic player who did not give ground. At the crucial moment, with the score at 1-3 in favor of Nadal and the Australian's serve, the Spaniard was about to take a decisive lead in the game, but the Australian responded with two solid points to avoid it.

Nadal, however, maintained his level, securing his serve and adding games with relative ease, as he demonstrated in the blank game that gave him 5-3 on the scoreboard. With his serve in his favor, Nadal was one step away from closing the match, and although De Minaur resisted bravely, the Spaniard managed to break his opponent's serve again in a crucial game that included two break opportunities, taking advantage of the second thanks to a double fault from the Australian.

With that last break, Nadal sealed the emotional victory, thus successfully culminating a vibrant match. On Monday he will return to the court, to face Pedro Cachín, world number 91, in the third round for the first time in his career, who eliminated the American Frances Tiafoe, 6-7 (1), 6-3 and 6-4 in two hours and 43 minutes.