For Rafael Nadal, winner of a record five Madrid Open titles, securing a place in the third round at the Caja Mágica would normally be a given.
But as the 37-year-old attempts to tread the fine line between reacclimatising his battle-worn body to the rigours of the sport he has graced, while avoiding injury for long enough to bid it a proper farewell, nothing can be taken for granted.
So as Nadal faced Alex de Minaur for the second time in less than a fortnight, there was nothing ordinary about the way he defied a 12-year age gap and a disparity of 501 places in the rankings to avenge his recent defeat at the Barcelona Open. On an afternoon of unbridled passion in the Spanish capital, Nadal was roared to the rafters beneath the closed roof of Estadio Manolo Santana, overcoming a rare moment of controversy and a tenacious fightback from the world No 11 to claim an impressive 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 victory.
Ten days after running out of steam against De Minaur in Barcelona, and in what might otherwise have been his final match on home soil, the win marked a small but significant step forward for Nadal. He has spoken of the need to manage his body in preparation for a possible final tilt at the French Open, where he has won 14 of his 22 grand slam titles, and has stressed that he will only play in Paris if his physical condition improves. The Spaniard’s performance against De Minaur offered grounds for cautious optimism on both fronts.
Nadal clocked an average of 111mph on his first serve, a notable improvement on the 102mph he managed in Barcelona, and while that was fractionally less than he managed in a first-round demolition of the American teenager Darwin Blanch, it was nonetheless a promising sign that the hip and abdominal issues from which he has suffered this year are easing. His stamina and speed are not what they were, but Nadal is working within his physical constraints, and here that was enough to secure a first top-20 win since he defeated Casper Ruud at the 2022 ATP Finals.
“It needs time,” said the Spaniard, who will face Pedro Cachin of Argentina, ranked 91st, for a place in the last 16. “I think for moments it has been a good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things, but still on and off.
“I’m super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex, play over two hours.
“I really believe that tennis hasn’t been an issue for the last two years, more the physical issues, no? 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. That’s not the case yet – just step by step, let’s see how I recover.”
If there were any doubts about how much the occasion meant to Nadal and those connected with him, they were quickly dispelled. No sooner had he sealed the opening game than the stadium was reverberating to chants of his name; by the time he delivered a mighty whiplash forehand to create the platform for an early break, even his sister, Maria Isabel, was up on her feet brandishing a clenched fist.
But as Nadal served to stretch his lead, his momentum was arrested by a contentious piece of officiating from the chair umpire, Fergus Murphy. At 15-30, De Minaur sent a return long, prompting the Spaniard to reply with a half-hearted backhand before gesturing to a mark behind the baseline. Murphy, however, did not deem it a clear request for a challenge and awarded the point to De Minaur, who had punctuated the exchange with an uncontested drop shot. The decision prompted a furious reaction from Nadal.
“If I stop and mark the ball, that doesn’t mean that I want to challenge?” he demanded incredulously before demanding that Murphy call the supervisor.
“I saw you stop, but I didn’t see you challenge,” replied Murphy as jeers echoed around the arena.
It was a rare outburst from Nadal, whose reputation as one of the fairest competitors on the men’s tour precedes him. Yet his frustration was understandable: the electronic line calling system showed De Minaur’s shot had indeed landed out, and the 25-year-old went on to break, winning four of the next five games.
Nadal, though, was not to be denied. There were some nervy moments, first when a sequence of untimely errors landed him in trouble while serving at 5-5, then when De Minaur cancelled out four straight set points from 6-2 down in the tiebreak. But when an outrageous if slightly mistimed backhand winner brought up a fifth opportunity, Nadal made no mistake, forcing an error from the Australian with a violent topspin forehand to spark wild celebrations. With the atmosphere growing more febrile by the second, a brilliant piece of defensive play earned Nadal a break at the start of the second set, and from there he would not be caught.
“You play in Barcelona, and then all of a sudden this match over here, everything doubles,” said De Minaur. “All the outside noise doubles. I wish I would have played better, but I think his level lifted, and he was looking quite good out there, if I may say.”
Whether it will be enough to convince Nadal that he is ready for a final shot at Roland Garros remains to be seen. By his own reckoning, he is not there yet. But a second straight win is a step in the right direction.
As for the more immediate outlook, the removal of Stefanos Tsitsipas from his path will have done Nadal’s prospects in Madrid no harm at all. The seventh-ranked Greek, who won a third Monte Carlo Masters title earlier this month, suffered a 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Thiago Monteiro, a Brazilian qualifier ranked 118th.