A touching farewell to Rafael Nadal! His Czech conqueror took the role of spectator

Rafael Nadal played most likely his last match in his professional career in Spain. Jiří Lehečka, who was the first ever tennis player from the Czech Republic to defeat Nadal on clay, became his conqueror. Despite the defeat, the Spaniard was clearly the biggest star of the evening.

Due to his poor ranking, Rafael Nadal had to start in the first round, where he met Darwin Blanche, only 16 years old. He allowed him just one game in the entire match, earning him a rematch with Alex De Minaur.

The twenty-two-time Grand Slam champion avenged his week-old defeat and won in sets 7: 6 and 6: 3. In the third round, he fought for more than three hours with Pedro Cachino and won the deciding set 6:3 thanks to the huge support of the crowd.

However, fatigue took its toll on the 37-year-old Spaniard in the eighth round against Jiri Lehecka. The tennis player from Kněžmost offered him only one breakball opportunity in more than two hours, which he managed to turn away with a winning shot.

Lehecka helped himself with his serve throughout the match. After the first serve he had a success rate of 89%, which is rare on clay. And against the 14-time French Open champion.

The key moment of the match

The turning point came at the turn of the first and second set when Nadal lost his serve twice. The Adelaide winner took the rest of the match without much difficulty and can look forward to a quarter-final battle with Daniil Medvedev.

The Caja Mágica Centre Court with a capacity of over twelve thousand seats was hopelessly sold out. Despite the defeat, the star of the evening was Nadal, for whom this was the last match on Spanish soil.

The five-time winner was able to enjoy the fantastic atmosphere here, and the organisers also presented him with a commemorative trophy. “I gave everything to the match as if it was going to be my last. This tournament means so much to me, more than the Grand Slams,” said the emotional Spaniard.

It must have been a great experience for Jiri Lehecka as well. On Thursday he will play the world number four Daniil Medvedev, for whom clay is not a favourite surface. The chances of reaching the semi-finals will therefore certainly not be slim.

Source: ATP, X – ATP Tour