Rafael Nadal overcame the ‘Demonic Challenge’ on Saturday to move into the next round of the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open. His victory over Alex de Minaur was not just a victory but a statement of a 5-time champion and revenge for his earlier loss in Barcelona to this similar opponent. Can Rafael Nadal continue his winning momentum against Argentina’s Pedro Cachin in the next match at the iconic Manolo Santana Stadium? Despite fearing Nadal’s abilities on clay, his opponent is well aware of the Spaniard’s vulnerabilities at the moment.

Before stepping onto the court to face the ‘King of Clay’ at his own Kingdom, Pedro Cachin has an interesting take on his “dream” match. “Playing Rafa is of course a dream. I will face it with a lot of fear, of course. But today it is at a level which allows us at least to play to try to win. And that changes a lot of things. But it’s still Rafa!” (translated from French by Google).

Cachin has won his previous two matches in Madrid. In fact, prior to his opening victory over Austria’s Sebastian Ofner, Cachin had been winless in all the ten tournaments this season.

He was on a 15-match losing streak overall across all levels. Nadal and Cachin haven’t met each other earlier on the ATP Tour. Chants of “Ole, ole, ole, ole” were heard last time when Rafael Nadal reached his first match points. Can the Argentinian cope with the pressure from the Spanish crowd?

His last match lasted for more than two hours. Has Nadal got the required time for his recovery to bring his A-game back on the courts on Monday? Nadal has won five out of seven games this season. However, despite the improvement, his physical health remains one of his biggest concerns in this season. He isn’t ready to say that old Rafa is back!

“No, not yet” -Rafael Nadal on the possibility of getting back to his old form

Rafael Nadal recently got his first Top 20 win since November 2022 but still, he thinks he needs more time to get back to his old form. During an interview, he was asked if he thinks old Rafa is back, “No, not yet. It needs time (laughs). I think for moments it has been a good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things, but still on and off.” But the Spaniard is “super happy” to be able to play a competitive game against a player like Alex de Minaur.

He further went on to reflect on the biggest concern that he has at the moment surrounding his career. “I really believe that tennis hasn’t been an issue for the last two years. More the physical issues. If I am able to play weeks in a row and if I am able to play tennis, then I’m going to see how far I can go and how competitive I could be. But that’s not the case yet, just step by step and let’s see how I recover.” Share what are your thoughts on this amazing run of Rafael Nadal so far at the Madrid Open!

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