Rafael Nadal showed no mercy as he destroyed Darwin Blanch in what was the 16-year-old’s second-ever professional match. Playing in the Madrid Open likely for the final time, the five-time champion needed just 64 minutes to storm through 6-1 6-0.
Blanch faced a baptism by fire in Madrid after receiving a wildcard into the tournament. The world No. 1028 had only played one official match leading in. And he found himself drawn against ‘King of Clay’ Nadal.
It was a battle of the ages, as 37-year-old Nadal and 16-year-old Blanch set the record for the biggest age gap in a Masters 1000 match. The American was born six years after Nadal turned pro, by which time the Spaniard already had three Grand Slam titles.
The inexperienced teenager threw in a couple of aces during the opening game but still struggled with the Nadal aura and was broken immediately.
Meanwhile, the 37-year-old was serving noticeably better than he did in Barcelona last week when abdominal pains limited what he could do and made the shot a weak point in his game. Nadal secured a second break and flew through the opener 6-1 in under half an hour.
Blanch’s nerves were evident as he hit 15 unforced errors to Nadal’s four. Though a physically hampered Nadal only managed two winners while the American hit four. The former world No. 1 continued to steamroll through in the second set as his entire family watched courtside. There were flashes of vintage Nadal as he chased down drop shots and fired down winners, celebrating with his signature “vamos”.
Blanch’s lack of experience at the top level was evident as he failed to get on the board again while Nadal proved relentless and his first outing at the Caja Magica was over almost as quickly as it began.
But it will be a moment to remember for Blanch, who received some crucial advice from sparring partner Carlos Alcaraz ahead of the match. “I told him that this moment is going to be really helpful to his career, that it was really important to mine when I faced him in 2021 the first time,” the world No. 3 said earlier in the week. Alcaraz himself suffered a 6-1 6-2 bruising to Nadal on the same court three years ago.
As for Nadal, there were promising signs following his heartbreaking pre-tournament press conference. The five-time Madrid champion admitted that he was only playing for personal reasons this week and wouldn’t compete in the French Open if felt the same.
But he will be encouraged by his latest showing, even if he was helped by Blanch’s nerves and mistakes. Nadal now faces Alex De Minaur in a rematch of last week’s second-round clash in Barcelona, won by the Australian world No. 11. But the Spaniard now has more of a weapon in his serve after landing 69 per cent in the court and firing two aces against Blanch.
