The result will say that Rafael Nadal defeated Pedro Cachín in just over three hours in the third round of the Madrid Masters 1000, but the reality is that both won: the Spaniard, because he showed that he was able to overcome a new and demanding test in his attempt to return to the foreground; and the Argentine, because he never gave up, because he put the former world number one in trouble and even because he took the legendary rival’s shirt as a trophy.
After three hours and six minutes of play, Nadal was finally able to break Cachín’s resistance and score his third victory in the Spanish capital by 6-1, 6-7 (5-7) and 6-3. The Mallorcan’s fist to the sky had a double meaning. On the one hand, the joy of being new in a duel that had become more complicated than necessary and, above all, because he made it clear that he can be competitive even after spending more than three hours on a court. Two weeks ago, he had said that he could not demand more than an hour and a half and in Madrid he already doubled his performance on the court.
The first set was a clear 6-1 with three breaks in favor of Nadal, but the difference in the game was not that wide. Therefore, as soon as the Spaniard lowered the intensity a little and the Argentine got rid of his nerves, the duel became much more difficult. Cachín had two set points with his serve to tie the match, but he committed two double faults which seemed like his sentence in the game. However, the Argentine recovered and dominated the tie break to force the third set. There Nadal commanded from the start and, despite Cachín’s efforts, he was able to close the duel with solvency.
With three wins in a row after a year and a half and already in the round of 16, Nadal will face the Czech Jiri Lehecka this Tuesday, although the player himself had objections about his performance. “I don’t know, until I see how I am on Tuesday; and that is the reality. We are going to see if I am capable of playing two days in a row, of playing it with guarantees. It is an unknown for me. It has been a long time since I played taking on these burdens in official match. If I can compete on Tuesday it will be positive to have competed four days in a row. “I would be surprised to win,” he said.
On the other hand, Cachín fulfilled a dream by facing Nadal and took the defeat against one of the best players in history in the best possible way. As usually happens, especially in football, Cachin did not hesitate to ask the Spaniard for a shirt. It was at the end of the meeting, online, during the greeting between the two.
“It’s a dream come true for me. I’m not sure what the protocol is in these cases, but can I ask you for a shirt?” the Argentine said to Nadal as they congratulated each other on the match played.
Nadal nodded. “Then I’ll give you one,” he replied. And, then, he took a T-shirt from his bag, went to the Argentine’s bench and handed it to him to fulfill the wish of his rival. Nadal passed a test, Cachín fulfilled a dream.
