Rafael Nadal once again did not play his best tennis, but he saved four match points in an epic thriller against David Goffin at the 2022 Madrid Open.
Since returning from a rib injury, the Spanish player has not played the same level of tennis he played before the injury. At times, he produced a stunning effort, but obviously, the 21-time major winner is just getting back, and it will take time for him to be in peak shape.
His target is the French Open, so he has time to discover his best tennis, and that's one of the reasons why he competes at the ATP Masters 1000 event in the Spanish capital. Even so, he proved more than good enough to beat Goffin, who defeated the Spaniard in their most recent match in 2020.
It was the Spaniard's second match in Madrid this year after he overcame Miomir Kecmanovic in two sets. In his third-round match, Goffin broke Nadal's serve first, but the Spaniard broke back immediately.
The 13-time Roland Garros champion then continued playing better than the Belgian, and he jumped out to the lead, eventually winning the first set of this third-round match 6-3.
His opponent paid the price of winning only four out of 12 points on his second serve, as the third seed punished him relentlessly. However, the second set featured a more aggressive Goffin who understood he needed to increase the intensity to stay competitive.
Still, he was outplayed by his more experienced opponent in one of his early service games. The Spaniard confirmed the break and marched towards the win. He had his first match point on his opponent's serve when leading 5-3 and his second when serving for the set at 5-4.
Shockingly, he couldn't use either of these chances, as Goffin mounted an insane comeback to win four consecutive games and the second set 7-5 to force the decider at La Caja Magica.
In the final set, fans in Madrid saw a proper battle between the players as both had chances to win. It had to be decided in the tie-break, in which Nadal jumped out to a 4-1 lead only to fall behind 4-6.
Still, the Spanish legend continued battling, saving four match points and winning almost two hours after his first match point, triumphing 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(9).
0 Comments