Rafael Nadal defeated Pedro Cachin 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3 in the Madrid Open 2024 on Monday. After the match, Nadal said that 3 weeks ago, he wasn’t sure if he could be competitive anymore, even on clay as he was losing to his students in his own academy in Mallorca while practicing with them. The Spanish legend has been careful in his words and approach in the competition as he has time and again claimed that he is taking things ‘one step at a time’.
So fitness has been the least of Nadal’s concerns since his comeback in Barcelona. In fact, it is his competitiveness that is his biggest concern and as a result, focus. Rafael Nadal has come out all guns blazing at a Masters tournament on clay, quite to the delight of many. Tennis fans are ecstatic to see him play this way, but his comeback has not been easy.
Nadal played for over 3 hours against Pedro Cachin, which could be extremely jarring to his just-recovered body. However, he is in high spirits and is happy to be on a winning run.
A tweet by tennis journalist Jose Morgado quoted Nadal about competing again and has shown again how humble the Spaniard is, even after all his success.
Three weeks ago I was losing to every kid at my academy. And now I’m competing again against the players from the ATP circuit. And winning matches,” Nadal was quoted as saying in the post-match press conference.
Rafael Nadal expressed too honestly rather that he would be surprised if he defeats Jiri Lehecka in his next match. But he said the same before his match against Alex de Minaur, following a win over Darwin Blanch in the first round. Fans will be hopeful that Nadal plays with the same mindset and skillset to beat Lehecka in what is his farewell tournament in Spain. Nadal had this to say about his upcoming opponent, also reported by Express UK.
“I will play against a very high level player, he has a very powerful serve and hits from outside the court. Alex [De Minaur, world No. 11 who he beat last round] may be ranked higher than Lehecka, but his ball quality is another level, so we’ll see.”
Rafael Nadal Compared Jiri Lehecka to Alex De Minaur
Nadal showered praise on Lehecka, who is a better player than Alex de Minaur on clay. The Spaniard sounded positively cautious before his match against Lehecka. He is not bothered about what is going to happen as he is more focused on recovering with ease ahead of the Round of 16 clash.
The Spaniard added, “I need to find a way to be able to play days in a row and still be competitive. I don’t know if I am in that moment yet. Let’s see what can happen tomorrow. But I’m gonna try. I’m gonna do the things the right way to try to be ready for tomorrow. So I cannot [feel] concern at all. Just happy to be on court again tomorrow hopefully. Hope to be ready.”
Jiri Lehecka won his first ATP title this year at the Adelaide International and is looking in terrific form. But Rafael Nadal will have the advantage of more recovery time from his current win since he will be playing at night time. His match against Jiri Lehecka won’t start before 9:00 pm local time in Madrid. This could also be the last time Nadal plays a night match in Madrid in his career.
