Rafael Nadal, who is attempting a final return to form at almost 38 years old despite his battered body, successfully entered the competition on Thursday at the Masters 1000 in Madrid by dominating the very young American Darwin Blanch, ranked beyond 1000th place in the world, in two sets, 6-1, 6-0.
Nadal was never in danger from his 16-year-old opponent and won in 64 minutes. As in Barcelona last week, where he made his return after three months of absence, the Spaniard with 22 Grand Slam titles will face Alex de Minaur, 11th in the world, in the second round.
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It will undoubtedly be a different story: in Catalonia, the Australian won 7-5, 6-1. “I would be very surprised to beat him,” Nadal even confided Thursday evening. In the meantime, discover the best points of his match against Blanch in the video below.