Rafael Nadal’s injury comeback was ended by Alex de Minaur and Nadal waved goodbye to the Barcelona Open for possibly the final time.
The Spaniard was playing his first tournament since January and had made a winning return on Tuesday with his first round victory over Flavio Cobolli, but the 37-year-old was no match for the in-form De Minaur. Nadal lost 7-5 6-1 to world number 11 De Minaur in round two.
Nadal, a 22-time major winner, has indicated he plans to retire in 2024 if he is unable to compete regularly. The former world number one, now ranked 644th, has only played five matches since January 2023 because of hip and abdominal injuries.
“Alex is a great player. In terms of tennis today, he was in better shape than me,” Nadal said.
“He has really played at a very high level since the beginning of the season. I think he has made a very important step forward in his level of tennis.”
De Minaur began brightly, breaking in the opening game, but Nadal broke back to make it 3-3 before the Australian made the decisive break and held to take the first set, and had little trouble as he strolled to win the second.
“I think about the only thing I might have on Rafa on clay is physicality at this stage of his career,” De Minaur said.
Nadal is hoping to be fit enough to make a return to the French Open, where he won a record 14 men’s singles titles,next month and suggested he was preserving his energy for Roland Garros during the latter stages of the De Minaur match.
“On a personal level, for what is to come, the 6-1 in the second set is what had to happen today,” he said.
After being beaten on the court which is named after him – for what could be the final time – to a standing ovation and rapturous send-off.
“At least, how things went, for me I had the chance to say goodbye here on court,” said Nadal after his loss to De Minaur. “That means a lot to me, because I probably felt one week ago that I was not able to play in this event. That would have been painful, so at least I played, I enjoyed the game, and now is the moment to keep going.”
The Spaniard’s aim is to arrive in Roland Garros, where he has triumphed a record 14 times, in peak condition.
