Boris Becker recently reacted to Rafael Nadal's display of emotion after the Spaniard was seen celebrating his Madrid Open second round victory against Alex de Minaur with an enthusiastic fist-pump.
Nadal defeated De Minaur 7-6(6), 6-3 to advance to the third round at the Masters 1000 tournament. This win marked the Spaniard's first win against a Top-20 opponent since the 2022 ATP Finals. It also allowed him to avenge his loss to the Aussie in the second round of the Barcelona Open the previous week.
This victory also marked the first time since the 2022 Madrid Open that the 37-year-old won successive matches at a Masters 1000 event.
Following his win over Alex de Minaur, Rafael Nadal was captured celebrating his win while going towards the changing rooms, pumping his fist. The video of his celebration was shared by Tennis TV across their social media platforms
Former World No. 1 Boris Becker expressed his delight upon seeing the footage of the Spaniard's exuberant celebration following his victory over Alex de Minaur. Becker took to social media to re-share the video and highlighted the former World No.1's "fire" emotions he displayed.
"Rafa's fire 🔥 ," Becker captioned his Instagram story.
Rafael Nadal to face Pedro Cachin in Madrid Open 2024 3R
Rafael Nadal will go up against Argentine Pedro Cachin in the third round of the Madrid Open 2024.
The former World No.1 kicked off what could potentially be his last ATP Masters 1000 Madrid tournament by dominating 16-year-old American Darwin Blanch in the first round with a score of 6-1, 6-0. He then continued his winning streak by defeating Alex de Minaur in the second round, securing his spot in the third round.
The Spaniard holds the record for the most singles titles won at Madrid Open, having won the tournament five times. His last title win was in 2017 when he triumphed over Dominic Thiem in the final with a score of 7–6, 6–4.
Meanwhile, World No.91 Pedro Cachin started his 2024 Madrid Open journey by defeating Austrian Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-3 in the first round. He then caused an upset by defeating former World No.10 Frances Tiafoe in a thrilling match that ended 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4 to set up his third round match with the Spaniard.
Rafael Nadal and Pedro Cachin have never met on the ATP Tour, so their head-to-head record currently stands at 0-0.
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