“Definitely dangerous” Daniil Medvedev heaps praise on ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal, as the Spaniard secures a thumping win against Alex de Minuar

Rafael Nadal gets immensely praised by Daniil Medvedev for his performance in the Madrid Open.

“Definitely dangerous” Daniil Medvedev heaps praise on ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal, as the Spaniard secures a thumping win against Alex de Minuar

Daniil Medvedev(L) and Rafael Nadal(R) (Via Imago)

Spanish ace Rafael took the world by surprise by marking his comeback to tennis. After a prolonged injury break, the 37-year-old played his third tournament of the season at the Madrid Open. 

However, Nadal was exceptional this time around. He was up against the No.10th seed Alex De Minaur for the second time in two weeks. Although Nadal had lost to the Australian the last time around, he took this game with a different approach and emerged victorious 7-6,6-3. 

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This win sent ripples across the tennis world, and many players are now aware of Nadal’s return and his potential to win. Daniil Medvedev was one player who understood the potential of Rafael Nadal, acknowledging the challenge the Spaniard possess. 

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But especially on clay. You’re still scared, you know, you’re still scared of Rafa, who wins like 80 matches and loses 1 and he proved it today. 2 hours he managed to win so probably feeling better and better. Definitely dangerous. So let’s see how he does further on and if he can play better and better.
Said Dsniil; Medvedev

Nadal had indeed given 2 hours of maximum effort against De Minaur. With perfect serves and better forehands, the Spaniard pumped himself up after the win, and many even saw him celebrate aggressively. 

Daniil Medvedev reckoned that facing Nadal would be a tough challenge

No.3 seed Daniil Medvedev has an enormous task ahead of him at the Mutua Madrid Open. He had an impressive victory over Matteo Arnaldi in the first round and will now compete against Sebastian Korda. However, in the long run, Medvedev may even face Rafael Nadal in the quarter-final stage.

Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev (Via Imago)

However, the Russian revealed to find it tough to beat Nadal on the clay court. Given that he has had less success with Nadal in the past, Medvedev knows the challenge he will face against Nadal.

It's very tough to beat him. Actually, with Rafa, maybe I even had even less success than with Novak [Djokovic] in a way. But we had some tight matches where I felt like I could win and maybe he got the edge in the end. So for me, it's going to be a great challenge if I have to face him.
Said Daniil Medvedev said to the press

Medvedev will face the young American in his next round match and on the other hand, Nadal will play Pedro Cachin in the next round. If both these players continue to win, then we might see a Medvedev-Nadal face-off in the quarter-finals. 

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