As the clay court heats up at the Madrid Open, one name still shines as brightly as it always did. Rafael Nadal, who faced an unfortunate defeat in the Barcelona Open, is not ready to face the same fate in Madrid. And after bagging two back-to-back victories, Nadal has successfully qualified for his next match. And witnessing him back in his form has made Daniil Medvedev admit how other players now feel “afraid” of him on the clay court this season.

Rafael Nadal faced a heavy defeat against Alex De Minaur in the second round of the Barcelona Open earlier. During one of his statements, the 12-time Barcelona Open champion confessed that he does not think of himself as a favorite player there. However, after reviving himself in his latest match against the same opponent, Nadal emerged victorious. After a thrilling match with a score of 7-6(6), 6-3, he is ready to regain his position in the tennis world.

Referring to this, Daniil Medvedev said, “When I saw his statements in Barcelona, in which he said that he was not a favorite. I thought that, really, that is not marked by his state of form. Because the moment Rafa sets foot on a clay court, all his rivals are still afraid.”

The King of Clay has faced Daniil Medvedev six times in his career. And Nadal has won five of those matches. Nadal, who has a record of winning 63-8 records in clay court tournament finals, is indeed a source of fear for most tennis players. And Medvedev rightly points it out by saying, “It’s like that. We are still afraid of him. Every day he will feel better. It will definitely be very dangerous.”

He concluded by saying that “watching his progress will be as fun for the fans as it is difficult for the rest of the players.” And rightly so, Nadal also confessed how happy he felt to have won over a “great player” like Alex De Minaur in his last match.

“I’m super happy,” says Rafael Nadal after his latest victory at the Madrid Open

Rafael Nadal won his first match against a top-20 player in the second round of the Madrid Open. After an exciting match lasting 77 minutes, he defeated the World No.11, Alex De Minaur, on his home ground. However, like a humble winner, after the match, he admitted, “I’m super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex and play over two hours. It means a lot to me. So I can’t thank enough everybody here.”

Although interestingly, he did not agree when it was suggested that the old Rafa was back. Owing to the persistent injuries that had led him to stay away from tennis for a long time, the Spaniard still believes that he needs more time to be back in his form properly. “I think for moments it has been a good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things, but still on and off,” he further added.

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As Rafael Nadal progresses towards his form and gains back his ranking in the tennis world, it would be interesting to see how he reigns on the clay court once again!