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Rafael Nadal vs Darwin Blanch: ATP Madrid – First round

The five-time ATP Madrid winner, Rafael Nadal, will take on the 16-year-old Darwin Blanch in the opening round of the tournament.

Rafael Nadal Profile

The 22-time Grand Slam champion and former world No. 1, Rafael Nadal, is currently 512th in the ATP rankings. The Spaniard is 3-3 for the season and 1-1 on clay court.

Nadal came back to action last week in Barcelona. In the opening round, he defeated Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-3 and then lost to Alex de Mianur 7-5, 6-1.

Nadal played in the opening week of the season in Auckland, where he lost in the quarterfinal to Jordan Thompson after defeating Jason Kubler and Dominic Thiem.

Nadal made his debut in Madrid in 2003 and has won the tournament five times. His last title was in 2017, and he made it to the quarterfinals the last time he played there in 2022.

Darwin Blanch Profile

Darwin Blanch is only 16 years old, and he is ranked No. 1,028 in the world. The American is 9-8 for the season and 4-2 on clay surfaces.

He made his ATP debut this season as a wildcard in Miami, where he lost to Tomas Machac in the opening round 6-2, 6-4.

Blanch still plays on the futures level, and he lost his last match 6-3, 6-4 to Diego Augusto Barreto Sanchez, who is 652nd in the rankings.

Head-to-Head

This will be the first match between Rafael Nadal and Darwin Blanch.

Prediction and Conclusion

Rafael Nadal is still trying to recover and get back to some competitive shape as Roland Garros gets closer. Going to Madrid, he said that if he feels the way he does at the moment, he would not play in Paris, which means that he is still far from his desired shape. He played a couple of solid matches in Barcelona and had another week to prepare for Madrid. Nadal will face wildcard teenager Darwin Blanch, who is still playing on the futures level. The young American is impressed by just taking the court against one of the greatest players ever and has a chance to make a real sensation. Nadal is his biggest opponent in this match, and no matter his current state, he would cover the -7.5-game spread against Blanch.