Rafael Nadal is eliminated from the Madrid Open and receives tribute | tennis

Rafael Nadal’s participation on the courts in Madrid has come to an end. The tennis player, who had declared that this would be his last participation on Spanish soil, ended up defeated by 2 sets to 0, partial scores of 7/5 and 6/4. Nadal had a lot of difficulty breaking his opponent’s serves and, even with the support of the fans, he was unable to reverse the adverse score, saying goodbye to the competition in his country. After the end of the match, Nadal received tributes at Caja Mágica.

Even though he fought against adversity and tried to postpone the farewell, Nadal was unable to impose the pace of the game and saw Lehecka take advantage of excellent services to control the match in the more than 2 hours they were on the court.

The Spaniard had the serve in hand when the first set was 5/5, and could open the lead again, but his serve was broken and he saw his opponent serve to close the partial at 7/5.

In the second set the course of the match was no different. Nadal continued without being able to break his opponent’s serve and saw Lehecka serve to close the set at 6-4 and advance to the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open.

Nadal has suffered from injuries in recent years and in an interview throughout the week he had already anticipated his farewell to the Madrid clay court: “Playing for the last time here in Madrid means a lot. Because yes, I believe it will be the last time I will play here in Madrid and that I will be able to once again enjoy a field where I experienced very beautiful moments.”, he said.

During the match, the Spanish player was applauded by the fans who were in the stadium at almost every point he played. At the end of the match, the five-time Masters 1000 champion from Madrid moved the crowd and received a tribute that showcased all his achievements in the Spanish capital.

Despite the defeat and elimination, Nadal showed a lot of quality, and managed to play 4 matches again in the same tournament, a feat he hadn’t achieved since 2022.

For the Spaniard’s fans, the waiting time to watch him on the court again won’t be so long as Rafael Nadal returns to the courts at the ATP Masters 1000 in Rome, which starts on May 8th.