Nadal sets De Minaur rematch in Madrid

Rafael Nadal made a winning start at the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday, when he raced past 16-year-old wild card Darwin Blanch 6-1, 6-0 after 64 minutes.

The 37-year-old’s weight of shot was too much for the American teen Blanch, who committed 27 unforced errors, including 20 off his forehand, in just his second ATP Tour match.

In what was the largest age gap (21 years, 117 days) between two opponents at ATP Masters 1000 level, Nadal won 59 per cent of his return points and did not face a break point on his own serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes. I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks,” Nadal said. “It worked well. I’m happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future.”

In just his sixth match of the season, Nadal freely moved around the court and showed no signs of physical limitations in front of a packed crowd at Manolo Santana Stadium.

The 36-time ATP Masters 1000 champion rarely had to kick it into high gear on serve, winning 77 per cent of service points and facing deuce just twice, including when he served for the match.

^{Rafael Nadal's son, Rafael, was courtside for the five-time Madrid champion's opening win Thursday. Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}

Nadal, who is making his 20th appearance in Madrid this fortnight, will next face 10th seed Alex de Minaur, who ousted the Spaniard last week in Barcelona. The 92-time tour-level titlist leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 3-2.

A five-time champion in Madrid, Nadal owns the most wins (57) at the Caja Magica, where the home favourite first claimed the title in 2008 and most recently triumphed in 2017.

”It’s great after how things have developed the last few years, every time I have the chance to be on court in this amazing stadium with an unconditional supportive crowd, it means a lot to me,” Nadal said. “Just trying to enjoy every moment. Tomorrow, one more day of practise here and then after tomorrow, on court again. That makes me feel great.”

The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings is 4-2 on the season, having played just Brisbane and Barcelona prior to this week.

^{Fans of all ages show their support for Rafael Nadal in Madrid. Credit: Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour}

Blanch, who trains at the Juan Carlos Ferrero Tennis Academy, was aiming to become the second youngest player to win an ATP Masters 1000 match since the series began in 1990.

“Obviously, it wasn't my best day level-wise, I feel like I wasn't able to bring out my best level,” said the junior No. 8. “But obviously it was a really, really good experience. I was really happy to be able to play Nadal in a stadium like this, so, I'm going to try to take the most of it.

“Honestly, a lot of kids my age don't really get to experience that, with all those people around. So it definitely felt really nice being able to experience that.”