Rafael Nadal's Madrid Open experience ended with a loss to Jiri Lehecka, but he'll be back at the 2024 Italian Open in Rome next week.
The Spaniard ultimately had a better week than he thought he'd have at the Madrid Open. He started with a win over Alex de Minaur, after which he added a few more wins until last night when he faced a very inspired Jiri Lehecka.
The Czech player was able to get the win, ending Nadal's Madrid Open experience, but fans won't have to wait long for some more tennis from him. The 37-year-old will trade the Spanish capital for the Italian capital as he confirmed his participation at the Italian Open next week.
There was a lot of mystery around whether Nadal would play there in light of his meteoric comeback routine, but it seems like the week in Madrid proved to him that his body could be capable of handling it.
"I gonna try to play in Rome. That's another very special tournament in my career, I think I won 10? Yeah, 10. A lot of emotions there too. I dreamed to play all these tournaments that I had success one more time. Rome is one of these ones that I enjoyed a lot playing there"
"So I want to go there (to Rome). I gonna try. And I want to play well there. I want to play well. I want to be competitive. I want to give myself a chance to play good tennis, and I gonna keep working hard to try to make that happen."
Nadal played well at the Madrid Open and looked better with every match, but it was clear that he was far from his best. To get there, he'll need to work hard and obviously play more, which seems to be the goal with his participation in the Italian Open.
It's been many years since Nadal lifted his maiden trophy at the event in 2005, but it will be good to have him back at the Foro Italico.