Nadal crushes top American talent in opening match on clay in Madrid | Tennis

The 37-year-old Nadal was too strong for 6-1 and 6-0 for Blanch, 21 years his junior, who was admitted to the clay tournament in Madrid with a wild card.

Nadal, who dropped to 512th place in the world rankings, immediately took a break lead and allowed Blanch only twelve points in the first set. In the second company he only gave away thirteen points to the global number 1,028.

In the second round, Nadal will face tenth-seeded Australian Alex de Minaur. The born Mallorcan won the Masters tournament in Madrid five times and last did so in 2017.

On Wednesday, Nadal announced that he may have to miss Roland Garros. “If I arrive in Paris and feel like today, I will not participate in Roland Garros,” said the 22-time Grand Slam winner.

Nadal made his return last week in Barcelona after three months of injuries and failed in the second round. He also missed a large part of 2023 due to injuries and also had to drop out quickly upon returning to Brisbane in January.

Nadal is probably in the final season of his impressive career. He has two big goals in mind: winning Roland Garros and winning gold at the Olympic Games in Paris. Roland Garros starts on May 20. The Games are scheduled from July 26 to August 11.