Rafael Nadal, down to 644e world rank, who made his return after more than three months of absence, was eliminated in the second round of the Barcelona tournament by Alex De Minaur (11e), winner 7-5, 6-1 of their duel, Wednesday April 17.
The day after a smooth return against the Italian Flavio Cobolli, the 37-year-old Spaniard, with twenty-two Grand Slam titles, fell on a bone against the Australian, a player of a completely different caliber. , currently at the gates of the top 10 in the world, which showed him how far he has to go to hope to become the master on clay again.
Resistant and even at times vintage in the first set, with a few flashes reminding us of the extent to which his left arm is capable of doing damage, Nadal was able to catch up after a diesel start which saw his opponent twelve years his junior him delight with its entrance service. Finally fully into his match, the Majorcan broke to return to 3-3, at the heart of a vibrant sequence during which he took control of the game.
Condition to perfect
At times, the spectators present in the stands of the court which now bears his name saw Nadal make the powder speak, in his very own register of a fierce defender who always ends up counter-attacking even harder.
He got himself a break point at 4-3, but De Minaur was able to put the gas back into his game, increasing his aggression. In turn pushed to make mistakes, Nadal then sometimes showed himself impatient. This resulted in risk-taking, betraying a desire not to prolong the rallies, with the consequence of losing the set, after conceding two shutouts, in 1 hour 08 minutes.
The second round was much more one-sided. The Spaniard lacked juice, paying for his physical condition to be perfected and an obvious lack of rhythm, especially in phases of exchanges with changes of races, like the numerous drop shots on which he did not throw himself.
If he gave up, facing De Minaur, determined to win a still prestigious victory on earth against the ogre of ocher, Nadal nevertheless betrayed no discomfort on a physical level. Weighed down by repeated pain, he had not played on the ATP circuit since a hip injury in Brisbane in early January.
However, for the Spaniard it was a question of not relapsing in view of the great challenge which awaits him in two months at Roland-Garros, where he dreams of nothing other than a 15e sacred. He still has two months to improve his physical condition. His biggest challenge obviously.