In the feverish buildup to his final appearance at the Madrid Open, Rafael Nadal made himself abundantly clear. It was not too long ago that he was unsure if he would ever return to the court at all and so, with his lingering physical limitations, he came to Madrid with the intention of saying goodbye to his home crowd, not to win. But this is a 22-time grand slam champion whose career has been defined by his ability to win tennis matches on clay courts regardless of age, physical shape or environment. Of course he was not going to leave without a desperate fight.
Barely a week after he was dismantled by the very same opponent, Nadal returned to the fourth round here with an excellent performance, defeating Alex de Minaur, the 10th seed, 7-6 (6), 6-3 after more than two hours.
