Rafael Nadal started his 2021 Monte Carlo Masters competition in great style
Record Monte Carlo Masters winner Rafael Nadal looked to be in decent touch in his opening match.
The 11-time champion has made Monte Carlo his second home as he has dominated the clay courts. This is all in preparation for the upcoming Roland Garros tournament, and the Spaniard would be keen on adding a 12th title too.
Nadal faced Federico Delbonis in his opening match and he made light work of the Argentine. The Spaniard won the match in straight sets, 6-1 and 6-2 but set up a tough round of 16 clash.
Nadal faces Grigor Dimitrov later today and the Spaniard opened up on his performance in the opening clash.
The 34-year-old was speaking after the match and lauded Delbonis (h/t ATP Tour):
“It was solid match, I think. Of course, a very positive result. He’s a good player on clay. [It was a] positive start for me.”
However, Nadal didn’t find anything special from his end in this clash and was happy with his outing:
“I think I just really played a solid match. Nothing unbelievable, but nothing wrong. Just a solid match, a positive start. I think I did what I had to do today.”
Nadal now holds an incredible 72-5 record at the competition but Roland Garros is on his mind.
Rafael Nadal not taking Grigor Dimitrov lightly
The Spaniard won his latest French Open just six months back as the 2020 competition was shifted due to Covid-19.
However, Nadal has only Dimitrov on his mind next. He spoke about the challenge the Bulgarian possessed and even claimed he needed to be 100% to get the better of his rival.
“I have a very tough opponent in front [of me], so I need to be at my 100 per cent every single moment.”
Nadal also brought up his friendship with Dimitrov and was happy to be playing a tough match early in the competition.
The Spaniard isn’t the top ranked played in the competition with Novak Djokovic also in the fray. However, Nadal is the King of Monte Carlo, and it would be crazy to bet against him winning this tournament.
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