Nadal loses to De Minaur in second round at Barcelona. Spaniard had returned from injury layoff
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Rafael Nadal’s first tournament since January lasted only two matches with the Spaniard losing 7-5, 6-1 to Alex de Minaur at the clay-court Barcelona Open on Wednesday.
Nadal, back from an injury layoff, looked like his old self for brief moments in the second-round match but couldn’t keep up with the 11th-ranked De Minaur.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion had comfortably defeated 62nd-ranked Flavio Cobolli in straight sets in the first round on Tuesday in what was his first competitive match in more than three months.
Nadal again looked injury-free on Wednesday but was never in control against the in-form De Minaur, who picked up his second career win over Nadal.
It was only his fifth defeat at the Barcelona Open, a tournament he has won a record 12 times.
Nadal is returning from yet another injury layoff and hadn’t played since an exhibition match against Carlos Alcaraz in March. Before this week, he had played only three competitive matches this year — all in Brisbane in January — before skipping the Australian Open.
Related articles
OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice after Scarlett Johansson comparisons
NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI says it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices after some users s2024-05-21- Despite global calls for cease-fire, Israel continues military attack on enclaveThe much-awaited UN2024-05-21
China, Indonesia set to deepen ties
President Xi Jinping meets on Monday with Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto in Beijing. (2024-05-21- President Xi Jinping and visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena spoke highly of the P2024-05-21
Elon Musk gets approval from FDA to implant his Neuralink brain chip into a second patient
Elon Musk’s Neuralink has been given a green light to implant its brain chip in a second patient aft2024-05-21Experts: Lavrov trip eyes global agenda
As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov kicked off his two-day official visit to China on Monday,2024-05-21
atest comment