Nadal comeback ends in Barcelona Open second round defeat
BARCELONA: Rafael Nadal suffered his first defeat on his return to tennis ater injury as he fell 7-5, 6-1 against Alex de Minaur on Wednesday in the Barcelona Open second round.
The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back on court this week ater three months on the sidelines, batled well but eventually crumbled against the hard-working Australian.
Earlear, Nadal made a winning return at the Barcelona Open, where the 12-time champion defeated Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3.
Nadal is playing just his second tournament of the year and first since January, when he made the quarterfinals of the ATP 250 in Brisbane.
“Every time it is more difficult and especially when you are at an advanced age, it makes things even tougher,” Nadal said of his return as quoted by ATP tour.
“I’m going through tough moments but at the same time, when I’m able to be on Tour for a few days and practise with the guys and then be able to compete a litle bit, it means a lot to me. Still enjoyable enough to keep going. I’m happy to start with a victory without a doubt,” he added.
The 37-year-old was playing his first clay-court match since winning his 14th Roland Garros trophy in 2022. Tuesday’s victory marked his 475th win on the surface, ATP reports.
The 92-time tour-level titlist will next meet fourth seed Alex de Minaur, whom Nadal leads 3-1 in their ATP head-to-head series.
Nadal boasts a 67-4 match record at the ATP 500, where he first won the title in 2005 and most recently triumphed in 2021.
On Tuesday, Nadal made light work of Flavio Cobolli on a triumphant return from injury at the
Barcelona Open.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion had not played an ATP Tour match since January but dispatched the Italian 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 25 minutes to reach the second round.
Nadal, 37, was able to play on clay for the first time since winning the French Open in 2022 and showed flashes of his usual brilliance in a solid display.
“It was a good start -- when you return you can’t get rid of the doubts in one day, above all, on a physical level,” Nadal told TVE.
“Within what it could be, it was a good first round. He made mistakes and I think I played the game that I had to play.”
Nadal who has triumphed at Roland Garros a record 14 times, is hoping to play there in May in what he expects to be the final year of his professional career.
The clay court king, who missed most of 2023 injured, will face Alex de Minaur on Wednesday ater breezing past Cobolli.
“It will be at a speed that I don’t know if I will be able to keep up with, but I’ll try,” Nadal said of facing the 11th-ranked De Minaur.
Ater a double fault to fall 30-0 behind Nadal found his rhythm, with Cobolli intimidated by the fervent support for the Spaniard on the court named ater him.
Nadal converted his third break point in the fourth game for a 3-1 lead, with Cobolli surviving four more to hold at 4-2 down.
The 12-time Barcelona Open winner broke again to claim the set in 43 minutes, clenching his fist in celebration.
Cobolli handed Nadal a break for 2-0 in the second set with two more unforced errors but finally put some pressure on Nadal’s serve in the third game to break back.
However Nadal broke again for 3-1 ater Cobolli’s third double fault and served it out to triumph.
The Spaniard did not produce any aces and his serve was effective but not explosive.
“I’ve gone months without being able to serve, (and) although I’ve got a lot of excitement to play here and do the best I can, I’m not going to go crazy with the serve,” added Nadal.
“I have to serve with caution that the moment I’m in dictates... there are moments in which I feel more liberated and others in which I’m more careful.”