Unlike what Blanch, De Miñaur or Cachín had proposed, this time the exchanges are brief and aggressive. Jiri Lehecka (22) interprets the tennis of Rafael Nadal (37), interprets it and processes it, and what he does is corner the Manacorí.
It doesn’t let him breathe, or think, or extend the games. Each blow of the Czech has poison and intention, and the drift entangles Nadal, whose path in the Mutua Madrid Open ends here, two stations beyond his farewell in the Godó Trophy, fifteen days ago: 7-5 and 6 -4.
The progression is notable, not bad at all.
But is it enough?
This time, on the stage of this Magic Box, Nadal tunes up as he tunes up any stage (the two bottles diagonally in front of his bench, a towel in each planter, he never steps on the stripes, he jumps onto the court like a bull would do). in the bullfight…), the manacorí endures as much as he can.
The night is dark.
Actually, hold the first heat.
More or less one hour.
Then he goes to the bathroom, perhaps trying to cool down Lehecka, but his luck is cast.
When the Czech decides that first set in his favor, Nadal becomes confused. When subtracting, he places himself five meters beyond the baseline. His blows fall short, they barely worry Lehecka, who serves at 229 km / h (at the end of the match he averages 217 km / h) and he bets on the serve-volley and takes over the game and the match, he makes everything go too fast.
If the Czech gets the first serve, the point is his.
Sign seven aces. Flying on his float, he scores about 90% of the plays with his first serve.
The three hours of the day before, three sets and a long suffering against Cachín weigh on the Manacorí, too much for the body of an autumn athlete, punished by a battered, undoubtedly fatigued body.
Just like in Barcelona against De Minaur, this second set is agony for Nadal. As soon as he suffers a break, in the first game, the adventure seems long and reveals his current limitations: what is the Manacorí missing, immersed as he is in his dizzying time trial towards Roland Garros?
It lacks power and angle in the service, it does not have the comfort that free points generate. He lacks depth on the right. And he lacks the ability to react when Lehecka makes the direct move. If the ball runs to him, the Czech crushes Nadal.
It’s past midnight when Lehecka prepares to serve to win.
Politicians, film and sports personalities, businessmen and tennis fans applaud excitedly, they ask a little more from their man, their legend, but the Balearic player’s setback goes away, his face breaks down, he looks sad and affected, and Lehecka seems to apologize: he has won, although he does not have a leading role here.
“It has been a very positive week, I have had the opportunity to play again on this court that has given me so much. The first time I came to Madrid being competitive, in 2005, was special. And I can’t find a way to thank you for it,” he says, with a congested face, on the verge of crying, while the organization displays the images of his triumphs in Madrid: 2005, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017.
