nadal He is immortal, a never-ending legend. “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa,” chanted a day of the audience that filled the Manolo Santana Stadium of the Caja Mágica. The king of clay. In a single match, he pointed out three of his famous conditions, the player who destroys his rivals and also, equally worthy, the athlete who has the ability to overcome a bad result, who finds a way even when there is none the inspiration. Furthermore, he presents as a climax the addition of the greatest, the tenacity in the suffering, the idyll in the epic.
All this has the added merit that he had many physical problems for a year and a half. He avoided a retirement outside the competition, he insisted on saying goodbye, expanding his legend, being faithful to his figure.
Inexhaustible at 37 years old, in 512th place in the world ranking, his festival at the Mutua Madrid Open will continue for at least one more day. An example Rafael Nadalwho entered the round of 16, to be played throughout this Tuesday, defeating the Argentine Pedro Cachín, 29 years old and number 91, 6-1, 6-7 (5) and 6-3 in 3h.04′. They will face the Czech Jiri Lehecka.
Nadal hasn’t spent nearly three hours in a match since January, and then he was injured in Brisbane. It took eighteen months to see him win three games in a row at the same event. It hasn’t happened since the US Open in the summer of 2022, and he left the US Open with a fresh tear on the stomach he had already ruptured at Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal He gritted his teeth, waiting to see how he would be this Tuesday, how he would recover. He experienced a slide of play and emotion against a specialist from the land like Cachín, who had fifteen consecutive defeats in the ATP, but reunited with his best version, relying on the height of Madrid, which helps at the launch of the ball.
Nadal started with a bang, he overcame a frightened rival, who lost respect for the event as he got into the rhythm. Cachín, in Barcelona for a long time at the hands of someone he considered an older brother, Alex Corretja, He shined in the second set, never falling on his side then because of Rafa’s resistance and his own fears on key points.
The Spaniard recovered from 1-4 down, saving two set points to balance the set, 5-5. The South American’s arm was shaking, and he also missed 1-4 in the tiebreak. However, he let go at the toughest point, but his break led to a backhand cross-court passing that gave him the tiebreak, 7-5, to test Nadal in the third set.
How do you approach it? Rafa exceed two hours of work? Do you think about the afterlife, Roland Garros, or will you risk anything in Madrid? Going 2-0, with two balls for 3-0, made him take the path of living in the moment and going for the win.
In misery, but also in epic. pure Rafael Nadal. A very important achievement. Getting closer to what you’re looking for. With the correct compass of his game that begins to dictate points.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Robert Maynard, and I am a passionate journalist with experience in sports writing. For the last few years, I have been writing for Today Times Live. My main focus has been on sports-related stories and features. With my strong background in journalism and extensive knowledge of the industry, I am able to provide readers with well-crafted pieces that are both informative and engaging.
