Rafael Nadal He is out of series. In tennis, he is the greatest competitor of all time. His rivalry with Roger Federer elevated the sport to extraordinary popularity. On clay, it is unrivaled throughout its history. And time does not pass for the Spanish: he continues to fight.
Now, he trains at full speed with an eye on his presentation. Nadal prepares for the debut at the Masters 1000 in Madrid versus Carlos Alcaraz, 120 °, that left Frenchman Adrian Mannarino (34th) on the road for the second stage of the tournament. Days ago, was crowned in the ATP 500 of Barcelona after defeating Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final. This Wednesday’s meeting will start at 10 in Argentina. It is, as always, the big favorite.
Meanwhile, the left-hander put his rackets aside and started to have fun playing games with a tennis ball. He picked it up classy and then made surprising technical gestures with his left leg … and right. The champion of 20 Grand Slam tournaments conquered the title in Madrid five times; the last time, in 2017. But he doesn’t feel the pressure: whenever he can, he relaxes.
“I chose tennis over soccer at 12 because I played it better. When my uncle (Miguel Angel) played for Barcelona, the family encouraged them. Before that, we were all supporting Real Madrid. Once my uncle left Barcelona, we were Madrid fans again”, He said, some time ago. The man born in Mallorca is usually near the White House whenever the weather permits.
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Regarding the action of the Argentines, the bahiense Guido Pella He had to leave his debut match against the young Italian Jannik Sinner today, due to discomfort in the right adductor. Pella, number 55 in the world rankings, was 4-4 in the second set against Jannik (18 in the world) after losing 6-4 in the first against the 19-year-old Italian, when leg pain prevented him from continuing. .
The two Argentines who are still at the Mutua Open de Madrid are Federico Delbonis, who yesterday debuted with a great victory over Spanish Pablo Carreño Busta (22) by 3-6, 6-4 and 6-3 and Diego Schwartzman, who will make his presentation directly in the second stage this Wednesday against Russian Aslán Karátsev.
The Madrid Masters, which is played on brick dust and distributes more than 2.6 million euros in prizes, returns to the circuit after a year of absence due to the coronavirus pandemic and has as the top favorite Nadal, champion in 2005, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017.
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