For Andrey Rublev, winning two straight wins hasn’t been a significant accomplishment since making his Top 10 debut four years ago.
While acknowledging that time is not on his side, 22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal expressed his desire to continue playing long enough for his son to remember him on the court.
The 37-year-old Spaniard, who has stated that he plans to retire after the 2024 season, made his competitive comeback in Brisbane in January after a nearly year-long absence due to a hip flexor injury.
At the Madrid Open, Nadal turned back time to defeat Alex de Minaur in a dramatic and emotional match.
Recently, Rublev expressed his sadness for Nadal playing his last run in Madrid. He expressed his thoughts about it and said: “It’s tough to believe it might be Rafa’s last Madrid or RG; so many times he’s proven those who said Rafa is done were wrong. I’m not even going to be surprised if he wins a couple more Slams & Masters, and if he wins Slams, I don’t think he will stop.”
Rublev in Madrid, ranking, and results in 2024
Currently ranked no.8, Rublev has a compiled 17-8 match record in 2024. Andrey is playing at the moment in Madrid where he bested the world no.136 Facundo Bagnis 6-1 6-4 and the world no.28 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-610 6-4.
Andrey Rublev will square off with the world no.25 Tallon Griekspoor in the 4th round. Their current record is 2-0 for Rublev.
Rublev has won 1 title in 2024 in Hong Kong.
Andrey won 15 titles in his career: 4 on hard courts, 5 on clay courts and 6 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Rublev is scheduled to compete next in Rome (Internazionali BNL d’Italia). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 8th of May.
Nadal in Madrid, ranking, and results in 2024
Now ranked no.512, Nadal has managed to achieve a composed 5-2 match record in 2024. The Spaniard is now playing in Madrid where he beat Darwin Blanch 6-1 6-0 and the world no.11 Alex De Minaur 7-66 6-3.
Rafael Nadal will play the world no.91 Pedro Cachin in the 3rd round. They have never played each other so far in top competitions.
Rafael won 92 titles in his career: 24 on hard courts, 63 on clay courts, 1 on indoor courts and 4 on grass courts. (See the list of his titles)
He is also scheduled to play at the French Open (French Open) after Rome. The main draw will start on the 8th of May.
Andrey Rublev and Rafael Nadal played each other 3 times. The head to head is 2-1 for Nadal. Previously, the last time they squared off, Andrey Rublev won 6-2 4-6 6-2 in the quarter in Monte-Carlo (Monte) in April 2021.
In the following video you can watch the highlights.
