Fan excitement levels experienced a surge when Rafael Nadal decided to step back into the game. While everyone had high hopes to see him dominate at the Barcelona Open, Rafa had to experience a second-round exit against Alex De Minaur. As he looks forward to giving himself a second chance in Madrid, the draw table placed the Spaniard in a similar situation again.

The Mutua Madrid Open began with its qualifying round today and every participant now has the draw table to figure out their path toward the title. Looking at Rafael Nadal’s journey, the tennis star will be starting his run with a showdown against American ATP star Darwin Blanch, scheduled to be played on 24th April. However, the real trouble awaits for him after that.

According to the draw table, the Spaniard will have to face Alex De Minaur in the second round. This not only presents a tough challenge against him but also drops a Barcelona-like scenario once again. De Minaur, who faced Rafa in the second round of the Barcelona Open, served him with a 7-5, 6-1 defeat.

While this happened to be a haunting situation for the Spaniard, he will have to go through it once again to move ahead on his run for the title that he earned five times in his career. With an alarming situation lying ahead of him, it still remains to be seen what strategy he uses to overcome it this time. While the ‘Demon’ won’t make it easy for Rafa, he knows it’s not going to be easy.

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De Minaur admits to the difficulty in facing Rafael Nadal

Despite attaining a straight-set victory over Rafael Nadal, Alex De Minaur confessed that it was not at all easy to face the Spaniard. Even after fighting against the difficulties of aging and injuries, Rafa still managed to present tough levels of competition, making it a scare for his Australian opponent.

“I think about the only thing I might have on Rafa on clay is physicality at this stage of his career,” De Minaur said, admitting to the age factor that stops him from unleashing his dominance. Along with that, he also added how difficult it was for him to get through. “I decided to try and make the rallies quite physical and long, use my speed to my advantage. It’s never easy against him,” he added.

As both the competitors understand the strong and weak points of each other, it still remains to be seen if Rafa will be able to surpass the challenge this time.