By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday April 14, 2021
Rafael Nadal started his clay court season with a decisive victory over Federico Delbonis on Wednesday in Monte-Carlo.
Photo Source: Getty
Rafael Nadal’s 2021 clay-court season is off to a crackling start in Monte-Carlo, where the Spaniard dropped just three games in a second-round sweep of Argentina’s Federico Delbonis, 6-1, 6-2.
Nadal, an 11-time champion at Monte-Carlo, improves to 72-5 lifetime at the event and advances to face Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in third-round action on Thursday. Dimitrov defeated Jeremy Chardy on Wednesday, 7-6(3), 6-4.
“It was solid match, I think,” Nadal told reporters after the match. “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.”
Only once in 17 opening-round matches at Monte-Carlo has Nadal lost a set. That came in 2017 when Nadal defeated Kyle Edmund in three sets.
Nadal raced out to a 5-0 lead in the opening set before Delbonis was able to mount any kind of resistance. But the powerful, unconventional Argentine did push back in the second set after falling behind 6-1, 3-0. He broke Nadal for 1-3 and then saved a break point to hold for 2-3.
At that point Delbonis had won three of six games. It would be a high water mark for the World No.87, who would not win another game.
Nadal says that it isn’t always easy to maintain intensity with no crowd in attendance, as is the case this year at Monte-Carlo.
“Today in the second set, for some moments you lose a little bit that intensity because you feel the match almost was over with 6-1, 3-0, double break,” he said. “I don't know. Is difficult to keep going sometimes with the same intensity without the crowd. The crowd helps you to keep going. You want to show that you are in good shape. I mean, the type of energy is a little bit different, especially in situations like today that I had the match more or less under control.”
Nadal finished the match with 16 winners against 16 unforced errors, including 12 forehand winners. He won all five points he played at the net and claimed 63 of the match’s 101 points.
All in all a very nice day at the office.
He hopes his form can continue tomorrow, as he makes a quick turnaround and faces Grigor Dimitrov in the third match on Court Rainier III.
“He's a good friend, a good guy, and a great player,” Nadal said of the Bulgarian, against whom he owns a 13-1 record, including 5-0 on clay and 3-0 at Monte-Carlo. “Yeah, going to be a tough test in my second round. Going to be his third. I need to be ready for it. I hope to be ready for it, no? I am just excited to play a tough match very early in the tournament.”