Madrid: Rafael Nadal fast, Richard Gasquet defeated for his 1000th match, Iga Swiatek easy… What to remember from Thursday’s matches

The Majorcan, like the favorites in the women’s draw (Swiatek, Gauff, Sakkari or Ostapenko), easily qualified for the tournament on Thursday.

A small step for Rafa, a big milestone for Richard. As he did last week in Barcelona, ​​Rafael Nadal, who dropped to 512 in the ATP rankings, cruised through the first round of the Masters 1000 in Madrid on Thursday, April 25, knocking out the very young (16) Darwin Blanch (1028). ). 6-1, 6-0 and only 1h03 of the game. His former junior rival Richard Gasquet, who will celebrate his 38th birthday 15 days after Mallorca next June, celebrated his 1000th match on the ATP circuit. But the 116th in the world did not celebrate against the Italian Lorenzo Sonego (52), the winner 6-2, 7-5.

In the left-handed duel, Rafael Nadal showed even more ease than against Flavi Cobolli in Barcelona last week. Darwin Blanch suffered from the same ailments as the Italian, racking up 27 unforced errors against regular Mallorca and dictating the rally. The “Bull from Manacor” even showed signs of improvement, especially in serving, but he will wait for a stronger opponent to put his physical condition to the test. He could count on a more efficient first ball, regularly exceeding 190 km/h. “It gives me another chance to play here in Madrid and it means a lot to me”he commented soberly after his match which he described as “exactly”.

Rafa wants to take revenge

In the second round, Rafael Nadal will meet the man who eliminated him a week ago in the same stage (7-5, 6-1), Australian Alex De Minaur (11th). After almost two years without standing on clay and an interrupted return in January in Brisbane, the Spaniard is entering the last part of his preparations for Roland-Garros. The cleaning neophyte who has never won on the main circuit, without straining his talent, prepares his revenge against Alex de Minaur in ideal conditions, with the ambition to pass this test against the world elite opponent.

Gasquet’s 1000th game

The entertainment could have been better. After a great qualification, Richard Gasquet (116th) was eliminated in the first round by Lorenzo Sonego (52nd) 6-2, 7-5. The Frenchman’s 1000th meeting on the track did not end in the best possible way, but he remembered this milestone more: “For me, it is a great achievement to play a thousand matches on the track, he declared after his defeat. Obviously, the level is more complicated when you turn 38. I didn’t think I would be able to play (Again) at that age and making 1 000 matches.” But Biterrois is still not sure about his exit from the field: “I try not to think about it, play, win a few games, have fun. It’s been like that since the beginning of the season.” Imperial on his game (nine aces, 82% of points won on his first serve), Italian will meet in the next round with his compatriot Jannik Sinner, the world number 2 and one of the favorites of this tournament in Madrid.

In the women’s table, Coco Gauff (3rd) did not give Arantxi Rus (47th) a break, scattering the Dutchwoman in 53 minutes of play and two “bubbles” (6-0, 6-0). World No. 1, Iga Swiatek, was barely slower (1h18) and beat Xiyu Wang (52nd) 6-1, 6-4. Returning to the circuit after becoming a mother in 2023, former world number one Naomi Osaka (197) was defeated by Liudmila Samsonova (17) in the second round of the WTA 1000 (6-2, 4-6, 7-5), while Maria Sakkari (6th) and Jelena Ostapenko (10th) passed this milestone without incident, winning in two rounds.