David Goffin (ATP 60) offered himself a prestigious duel at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid by beating the Dutchman 6-4, 6-2 in the second round on Wednesday Botic of the Sand Scallop (ATP 31). The 31-year-old from Liège, from qualifying, will indeed find Rafael Nadal (ATP 4), five-time winner, for a place in the quarter-finals.
For his first match on clay of the season, the Spaniard, 35, dominated the Serb Miomir Kecmanovic (ATP 32) 6-1, 7-6 (7/4). He had not played since mid-March and his lost final at the Indian Wells tournament against the American Taylor Fritz following a rib injury.
“My preparation was non-existent“, said Nadal after his qualification. “I am therefore very happy with this victory. Don’t expect a lot at first. When I arrived last Thursday, I had trained very little. It was the roller coaster. Yesterday and today I felt a little better. The first set was very good and the second not bad. Physically, I’m a little more tired than usual. The rib is one of the injuries that allows you to do the least things“.
Rafael Nadal will therefore be clearly on his guard against David Goffin. Even if he won their four clashes on clay, he knows that the Belgian number 1 has already beaten him twice in his career, at the Masters in London in 2017 and at the ATP Cup in Sydney in 2020.
“These first matches are key. Coming back after a period without playing is tricky and difficult“, added the Majorcan. “I have a good ability to be humble enough to accept that things aren’t perfect. You have to build from the daily work and accept that there will be mistakes“.
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