Daniil
Medvedev commented on
Rafael Nadal's form following the Spaniard's victory over
Alex De Minaur in the second round of the
Madrid Open. The 22-times Grand Slam
champion had suffered a comprehensive defeat to the Australian just a week
earlier at the Barcelona Open, but this time he got his revenge with a
straight-sets win, advancing to the third round of the tournament.
At the
same time, world No. 4 Medvedev was playing against Italian
Matteo Arnaldi,
struggling in a three-set battle to secure victory. The former US Open champion
will face the 25th seed
Sebastian Korda in the round of 32. During the press
conference before the match, he was asked about Nadal's current form after
securing his best win since 2022.
Medvedev analyzes Nadal's form after Madrid victory
Medvedev
wasn't too surprised by Nadal's victory and praised the Spaniard, saying that
regardless of how Nadal feels, challenging him is always a daunting task: “No
matter what form Rafa is in or how he’s feeling, when he steps especially on
clay, I would say even it doesn’t matter if it’s clay or hardcourt, but
specially on clay.. you’re still scared.”
“You’re
still scared of Rafa that wins 80 matches & loses 1, something like this. And
he proved it today you know (against De Minaur). I didn’t see the match, I was
playing at the same time but, 2 hours he managed to win so probably feeling
better and better,”
Nadal will play against the world No. 91 Pedro Cachin at Madrid Open third round
“(He
is) definitely dangerous, so let’s see how he does further on. If he can play
better and better I think it’s good, it’s going to be very fun and tough for
other players,” the Russian former world No. 1 added.
Nadal
(No. 512) will play in the third round of the tournament on Monday at the
Manolo Santana court against the Argentine
Pedro Cachin (No. 91), who surprised
in the second round by defeating the American
Frances Tiafoe (No. 23).