20:32
Nadal – the way to the round of 8
At first everything went smoothly for the Mallorquin at his absolute favorite tournament. The 13-time trophy winner beat back-to-back Jordan Thompson (6-2, 6-2, 6-2), Corentin Moutet (6-3, 6-1, 6-4) and Botic van de Zandschulp (6-3, 6-6). 2, 6:4) smoothly in three sentences. Only in the fourth round was he really challenged. In the end he had to go the full distance against Felix Auger Alisassime (3:6, 6:3, 6:2, 3:6, 6:3), but still got the upper hand. A first sign of declining performance – or a much-needed test to reach a new level of performance?
20:28
Nadal – Is he disabled?
It’s still a bit unclear how fit the record Grand Slam winner Nadal is at the moment. After his long injury break, he returned to the tour a few weeks ago. However, in both Madrid (against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals) and in Rome (against Denis Shapovalov in the third round), he was eliminated relatively early on his favorite clay court surface. The preparation for Roland Garros was not ideal.