The Nadalian points returned. The celebrations roared back. The back-and-forth plays resurfaced, the kind that make you get up from your seats. Rafa Nadal made the crowd at the Caja Mágica in Madrid vibrate and beat the Australian Alex de Miñaur 7-6 (6), 6-3. He goes through the Balearic Islands game by game, training by training, listening to his body, looking for sensations, trying not to overdo the loads so as not to injure himself again. The Manacor native is a tennis player who walks on lead feet but is still a championship competitor. Against De Minaur, the world number 11, his executioner the previous week in the Godó Trophy, Nadal raised his level and won. In the third round Argentine Pedro Cachín awaits him.
It was seen from the start of the match that Nadal had grown. The Mallorcan entered the court like a cyclone. To rub your eyes and confirm a return to the past. Fast on his legs, distributing at discretion with his forehand and dominating with authority. He gained the advantage with a first break and made people clap their hands. He only lost focus in an argument with the chair umpire by claiming a ball that he had gone out of bounds.
Not everything was going to be easy because Nadal has written pages and pages of matches with script twists in his career. And even more so now, when he is in his autumn stage. De Minaur woke up, solidified, minimized his mistakes and made Nadal run. It seemed like a carbon copy of the Barcelona game when De Minaur took the lead 4-3 and served. It seemed that Nadal had already lost his spark and that the mountain was becoming too steep for his current physical state. But the Spaniard was eager, he regrouped in a jiffy and went for the set. Spectacular exchanges followed one another. Like drop-shots and changes of pace and heights. The match was sensational, worthy of Nadal’s good times and there was no better outcome than sudden death. The tie-break was difficult for the Manacor native to finish but on the fifth set ball Nadal caught him. The heat had lasted 1 hour, 16 minutes. An eternity for Rafa now, but also a container of confidence for the Spaniard, gasoline for his morale.
Nadal had to take advantage of the situation. If during his race, the longer the better, now he has to measure his efforts while adding kilometers on the track. That’s why he had to try to tie the match in two sets. Nothing better than a new break to continue the initiative of the match. He never lost her again. 6-3 and state of euphoria. The old Nadal wants to return