For his first match on clay since Roland-Garros 2022, Rafael Nadal wins in the first round in Barcelona

After 631 days without seeing the earth, Rafael Nadal reappeared on the surface of his greatest exploits, Tuesday, in Barcelona, ​​and the almost 38-year-old Majorcan instead mastered his entire work, to get rid of it, in 1h25 , some fears but also the Italian Flavio Cobolli, 62nd player in the world (6-2, 6-3).

Given a standing ovation when he entered the Central which bears his name (he had let his opponent pass in front of him), Nadal carefully placed a towel on the ground, next to his bench, to place his white bag there and take out two bottles. -themselves posed with precision in front of his bench. Routines, always… He then headed to the center of the court wearing a purple and neon pink outfit. As if to overcome bad luck, following having fumbled over his commitment in recent weeks, he even chose to serve first.

First two worrying points

Will this April 16, 2024 remain as a key date, relaunching Nadal towards insane exploits, or as the fairly anecdotal return of an immense champion pursuing without ever regaining his former glory? At 21 years old, Flavio Cobolli, who has victories this season once morest Nicolas Jarry, Gaël Monfils and Félix Auger-Aliassime, is making clear progress. But this Italian, born a week following Rafael Nadal’s first victory on the main circuit, in May 2002, is currently struggling to transpose all this onto clay, where he has never beaten better than a 65th in the world. . In the Barcelona table, he looked like the ideal candidate to get back on track smoothly.

The start of the match of the man of fourteen Roland-Garros? A little worrying: a first ball at 177km/h into the net, a second at 149km/h, followed by a forehand that was too long for no reason. Then a double fault. 0-30, and not a sound comes out of the throat of the one who usually shouts loudly when hitting. But Nadal snorts a little, spins the ball on a forehand; Cobolli misses, and the Spaniard turns to 1-0.

Screams that come out more and more naturally

It gets better and better during the following games, with the exception of this serve, always with restraint, which will never reach the 190 km/h mark. From the bottom, and especially on the cross backhand, it really comes out pretty good. On the Italian side, it is from the back, on the contrary, that the weak point emerges. Cobolli commits 14 unforced errors on this wing during a first round which he logically loses 6-2, in less than three quarters of an hour.

Nadal produces enough volume to consistently take cover. Nothing shiny, but decent, by his standards, so far above ordinary mortals. In the second set, the Mallorcan dismisses an entry break point then immediately takes the opponent’s service. A while ago, he also started shouting at the service. Sign of a form of relaxation. That didn’t stop him from delivering a disappointing game, at 6-3, 2-0, and losing his commitment for the first time.

De Minaur’s turn

The public on the Rafael Nadal track is starting to be treated to very “Nadal” sequences, with cross shots which irremediably tear apart the opposing defense. Cobolli is fishing, the Mallorcan takes off, 6-2, 4-1. He strolls through his last three service games, never shaken until the end of this first meeting with the competition since January (defeat in the quarter-finals in Brisbane once morest Jordan Thompson).

It is of course too early to draw conclusions regarding Rafael Nadal’s potential over the whole of this spring which he awaited with so much desire and apprehension at the same time. But his second round, from early Wednesday followingnoon, once morest the crampon Alex De Minaur, world n°11, will say much more regarding the heights that the Spaniard’s game is already able to reach on earth. beaten. The only certainty of the day, Nadal is back, and he still knows how to win.