Rafael Nadal, at 37 years old and with some injuries on his back, continues to show that he is one of the best tennis players in history. The Spaniard had to fight more than necessary, but he won 4-6, 6-3 and 6-4 against the Belgian Zizou Bergs on the center court in his debut at the Masters 1000 in Rome (fifth of the season).
In what seems to be his tune-up for his last test before Paris, the Manacor native continues on his path and, more than ever, does not look beyond. In his clash against the 24-year-old athlete (they had never met officially on the circuit) the winner of 22 majors He lifted everyone from their seats with a point of anthology that reveals the essence of Spanish: resilience and quality.
At the beginning of the third set, Nadal stumbled after hitting the ball and everything indicated that the point would remain in the hands of the young Bergs. However, the former world number one quickly got up to stay in the game and received a standing ovation from everyone present by perplexing his rival with a delicious shot that landed near the net. It is worth noting that Rafa returned this season after a blank 2023 and, with the injury during his Australian return that dragged on, he gave up tournaments until Barcelona.
As a result of this victory, Rafael Nadal will face the Polish Hubert Hurkacz in the second round, seventh seeded and ninth in the world ranking (in 2024 he has won his first title on clay in Estoril). If he achieves his second victory in a row, the Spaniard will next face the winner of the cross between the Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild and the Argentine Tomás Etcheverry. The Danish Holger Rune also appears on this side of the picture.
The Spaniard managed to win this competition 10 times, being the greatest champion in history. He also reached the definitions of the 2011 and 2014 editions, but in both he succumbed to Novak Djokovic. In addition, he became the first tennis player with at least 70 official victories in two different Masters 1000 (73 in Monte Carlo and 70 in Rome). Another encouraging fact: since his return to the competition he had not managed to come back from a set down.
“Difficult match for me. There were moments of many doubts, I was not able to play calmly. But the truth is that I am happy, because in the end I found a way to win and for me it is very important today. For the confidence, because I have played again for almost three hours, and I feel good. Now I have the possibility of playing again in two days,” Rafa said in dialogue with the official broadcast once the match was over.
The world number 108, for his part, sought to become the first player to beat the Spaniard in a Masters 1000 coming from the previous phase or under the condition of lucky loser.
The colorful note was in the stands, since the match was stopped for several minutes due to a health emergency in the stands, resolved by the doctors present in the stadium. A fan required attention from Foro Italico specialists and the referee began to supply water to people in the stands so that they could send it to the affected person. The match was going at that time with one set in favor of the Belgian (6-4), but with 40-0 in favor of Nadal at the start of the second set.
