Nadal bows out in Barcelona Open second round; Ruud overpowers Muller
Rafael Nadal su¤ered his rst defeat on his return to tennis after injury as he fell 5-7, 1-6 against Alex de Minaur on Wednesday in the Barcelona Open second round.
The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back on court this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well but eventually crumbled against the hardworking Australian.
Norway’s three-time Grand Slam nalist Casper Ruud came out on top in an entertaining 6-3, 6-4 match against Alexandre Muller to reach the third round.
The 25-year-old Norwegian was broken twice in the rst set and allowed Muller to save 10 of 14 break points.
However, despite his sloppiness Ruud still took the set.
The third seed looked to have sealed the match when he broke his French journeyman opponent in the third game of the second set.
However, the World No. 6 gave up four break points while serving for the match to allow 27-year-old Muller back in at 5-4. Ruud, though broke Muller to progress with his 25th victory in 2024.