The Spaniard faced de Minaur in the Barcelona Open a little over a week ago, where he was handily defeated in two sets. All things considered, the 22-time major winner played a respectable match, but the Australian was unquestionably superior.

Similar to what Carlos Moya had prophesied a few days prior, this match was a little unusual. He stated that the match will be more competitive rather than predicting that Nadal would win.

This was Nadal’s viewpoint since, despite a contentious moment, the opening set was a very competitive match. The home crowd favorite battled back after De Minaur had taken an early lead, and the set ended in a tie-break.

While de Minaur missed a lot of shots, the Spaniard was marginally better and began making some fantastic shots. After the script changed, de Minaur, who had trailed 2–6, managed to rally and make it 6–6.

The set was ended with a miss by de Minaur and a massive backhand by Rafael Nadal that dropped in the court. After a big celebration, Nadal maintained the high momentum into the second set, when he broke de Minaur early on.

Given that this might be the last time the Spaniard plays in Madrid, the support from the crowd was overwhelming, and it definitely helped. The gloomy weather in Madrid caused La Caja Magica to close, which added to the already eerie ambiance.

At 3–2, Nadal had a little issue when de Minaur placed some pressure, but it was insignificant because Nadal managed to maintain his serve.

In the end, he managed to keep it close at 7-6(6), 6-3. Although it wasn’t a flawless performance, Nadal—who is beginning to appear stronger and better—played an amazing match to defeat de Minaur.

Additionally, he was fortunate enough to get Pedro Cachin, who defeated Frances Tiafoe, the 20th-seeded player, in the next round.