Nadal “close to his best level” says De Minaur; “Let’s not get carried away”, the Spaniard says

Rafael Nadal admits his victory against Alex de Minaur was his most important test since his return. Bu, he says, no one should get too carried away about his real level, even if his opponent felt it very strongly

Rafael Nadal, Madrid Open 2024 – © Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic

Cédric Rouquette

April 27, 2024

It is well known: the first language is that of the body (the famous body language). On Saturday, the Caja Magica press room demonstrated this in living colour. With their expressions, Alex de Minaur and Rafael Nadal almost said more about the lessons they learned from their second round in Madrid by their posture than with their words.

To my left, De Minaur, almost slumped 50 centimetres from the microphone, upset at not having reproduced his Barcelona victory against Rafa after feeling that he was the favourite for the most anticipated match of the weekend in Madrid.

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On my right, Rafael Nadal, who had roughly the same attitude before his first round on Wednesday, having struggled under an injury cloud for two years. But after dominating the 11th-ranked Aussie 7-6 (6), 6-3 in front of an electrified crowd, Nadal smiled, laughed, illuminated his answers with his gaze like he has done after his Grand Slam triumphs.

“The well of confidence is filling little by little,” he said.

Beyond the form, the substance was really worth listening to, four weeks before Roland-Garros, where the Spaniard hopes to make a run at the title one last time. Openly skeptical about his ability to be competitive at the highest level, Nadal came closer on Saturday, at least at times, to the invincible clay warrior who terrorised the circuit between 2005 and 2022.

IN BARCELONA HE WAS NOT PREPARED. THERE, WE SAW HIM AT A LEVEL CLOSE TO HIS PAST.
— Alex de Minaur

For De Minaur, things are even clearer: the monster is waking up. “I would have liked to play better, but I consider that Rafa played at a very high level during this match… So much so, we saw him at a level close to his past. His movement was much better. His level and intensity were high from start to finish.”

Not so fast, replied Nadal, who had already done his best to reframe the narrative after Stefanos Tsitsipas had, in Barcelona, designated him as a favourite for the tournament by his simple presence. The 14-time winner of Roland-Garros considers himself to have “maintained a correct physical and tennis level”, nothing else, he insists.

“Let’s not extrapolate on what is only one day’s reality,” Nadal explained. “I still have a lot of frustrations in my game. I am certain that I could have been competitive at this level today , but to talk about ‘best level’, we must agree on the objective that goes with it. I’ve had a lot more physical problems lately than I would have liked. I’m coming out of three positive days, yes, but there are still a lot of actions that I don’t perform as I would like to do them. I still have to be careful.”

I HAVE TO PlAY MORE TACTICALLY AND PROBABLY A LITTLE SLOWER
— Rafael Nadal

“The way I see it is this,” Nadal continued. “If the body responds the way I want it to, then I will be able to deploy the tennis I want to deploy. Little by little, I read the matches better, I read the balls better. But I play more tactically because I have to find solutions to the problems I just mentioned. Sometimes I wish I could direct the game faster. I have to play tennis probably a little slower, just attack the balls that I can attack, make sure that the pace doesn’t reach a certain level so that I don’t have to do quick runs.

“I still need time. There were good and bad moments today. I found my way without having a huge margin.”

If his physique is the main barrier to his tennis expression, Nadal has given good reasons to bet on big-time body language in the coming weeks. Last question of the press conference: “Do you have any pain following your recent injuries? “.

“No, not today. Small things here and there over the last few days, but I’m keeping them under control.”

If Nadal’s physique is under control, the rest of the ATP circuit can start to get a clear picture of his level again. The road to Roland-Garros seems to have started.