Rafael Nadal came to the Madrid Open, probably for the last time, wanting a chance to play in front of the Spanish faithful with his damaged body no worse for wear.
So far, mission accomplished thanks to an overmatched 16-year-old named Darwin Blanch.
There are professional tennis insiders who consider Blanch to be the next big thing, or something like that. That time may have come for the American, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be anytime soon.
Blanch struggled to find the court during 13 matches and 64 minutes of messy tennis, blasting balls long and wide into the net and never managing to find any rhythm against the aging champion. There is talent in his slender 6ft 3in (190cm) frame, but whether it was nerves or the usual heaviness of Nadal’s lift, Blanch couldn’t muster what he needed to show it. In truth, the match was probably over by the time he posted “Guys, I’m playing Nadal wtf” on his Snapchat – three days before it started.
For Blanch, it was the second time in five weeks that he had failed to earn his wild card spot in a tournament owned by IMG, the sports and media conglomerate that represents him, which is not uncommon in this sport. At the Miami Open, Blanch lost to Czech Tomas Machac, 6-4, 6-2, and now must deal with leftover scar tissue from Nadal’s drubbing.
Last year, the Madrid Open awarded a wild card to Mirra Andreeva, who was 15 at the time and another IMG client. Andreeva took out a series of established players, including Leylah Fernandez, Magda Linette and Beatriz Haddad Maia will advance to the round of 16 in her tour debut.
In an interview last month, Blanch’s father, Ernesto, said it was a waste of time for his son to play juniors, that there was nothing left to learn from the under-18 tournaments. years since he had already reached the semi-finals of the French junior championship. Open and Wimbledon last year at the age of 15. Darwin clearly has enormous talent, but he is nebulous, not yet becoming a star like Nadal’s.
For Nadal, it was clear from the first matches that he was going to be able to get through this match at half speed. A master in the art of determining how much he must give to win on a given day, Nadal rarely practiced and never pushed hard on his serve, the most troublesome shot for him at the moment due to pain in the middle of his body. A clever forehand down the line and a smooth pass across the court to the corner earned him a punch, but for most of the match he kept the ball away from the lines and let Blanch do the remains of his work for him. .
His reward is his second duel in 10 days with Australian Alex de Minaur. De Minaur knocked him out in straight sets last week in Barcelona but, as Nadal said on Wednesday, these tournaments aren’t about stringing together wins, just keeping himself fit enough so that if his body starts to deteriorate feeling better, he was sharp enough to compete at the French Open, which he won a record 14 times.
Even recourse to the Paris court remains to be determined for the moment, he said on Wednesday. He won’t play if he can’t compete at his level. But for one more day on a red clay court in Spain, Nadal hit forehands and backhands in front of an adoring crowd, gave it all back and came away victorious.
At this point, it’s about as good as it gets.
(Top photo: Oscar del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)