Rafael Nadal finally returned to the tennis courts at the 2024 Barcelona Open, and he will continue his comeback in Madrid.
The Spaniard's comeback was highly anticipated, and when he skipped the initial part of the hard-court season, many fans got worried, but a few weeks later, it turns out that we may get to se a bit more of clay-court magic from Nadal.
Although he also skipped the Monte-Carlo Masters, which many expected him to play, he returned to the courts in Barcelona, an ATP 500 event he won 12 times in his career, and a tournament that has a court named after him.
He won his first-round match against Flavio Cobolli, but in the second round, the fourth-seeded Alex de Minaur proved to be too strong to overcome for Nadal at this stage of his comeback.
After the tournament in Barcelona, another event in Spain follows, and it's an ATP Masters 1000 tournament - the Madrid Open. Following his Barcelona Open campaign, Nadal's participation in Madrid was not sure.
Although nothing changed as of now, there's one positive sign, and that's the fact that on Friday, April 19th, 2024, the 14-time French Open champion already practiced at La Caja Magica.
The Madrid Open runs from April 24th to May 5th, starting next Wednesday, and with many players still competing around Europe, Nadal is one of the first to travel to Madrid, signalling he wants to prepare early to maximalize his chances of competing.
Although he already practiced in Madrid, it still wouldn't be surprising if Nadal pulled out of the Madrid Open, as he stated many times that the Roland Garros is his main priority, and it's the tournament to "die for."
On top of that, the Madrid Open is by far his worst ATP Masters 1000 clay-court tournament, having won it only five times, while he triumphed 11 times in Monte Carlo and 10 times in Rome.
This is due to city's high altitude, which makes the ball fly fast, benefiting players with strong serves and hard hitting, which is reflected on the fact that Roger Federer won it three times and Alexander Zverev twice.