Rafael Nadal continues his victorious journey at the Masters 1000 in Madrid. The Spanish veteran beat Argentinian Pedro Cachin (ATP 91) 6-1 6-7 (5/7) 6-3 in the 3rd round in a 3h0 long match
The Majorcan, who will soon be 38 years old, won a real fight full of twists and turns against the tenacious Argentinian. Nadal, however, will not have much time to celebrate this victory.
He will in fact be on the court again on Tuesday to face the Czech Jiri Lehecka. Recovery will be essential for the player with 22 Grand Slam titles. But the fact of having already achieved three successes in Madrid is encouraging a few weeks before Roland-Garros.
Great value
‘I’ll see what I’m in tomorrow (Tuesday)’, Nadal said when interviewed on court. ‘I’m thoroughly enjoying playing here, I can’t ask for more, all this time I’m accumulating on court this week means a lot to me, both emotionally and tennis-wise.’
Against Cachin on Monday, an opponent who had not won a match since October before his improvement in Madrid, Nadal did not have to bring out the heavy artillery in the first set. Everything got complicated afterwards, when his ball started to hurt less and the Argentinian found his rhythm.
When he lost the second set, nailed by a passing on a serve and volley, and the clock showed 2 hours and 12 minutes of the match, we were worried about the Majorcan’s ability to withstand the shock, with his physical limitations. from the moment. But he found the resources to get through it as best he could.
/ATS