"No way Rafael Nadal is going past R2";"Alex de Minaur practicing his drop shots again"- Fans react to Spaniard's Madrid Open draw

Fans online were quick to spot that Rafael Nadal would have a potential meeting with Alex de Mianaur in the second round of the Madrid Open. The duo contested in a second-round match at the Barcelona Open last week in which the Australian prevailed in straight sets.

The central point of the Barcelona clash between the duo was the effective and extensive use of drop shots by De Minaur to neutralize the baseline prowess of Nadal which has been the Spaniard's traditional strength. Nadal, who was making a comeback to competitive tennis after a long time, found it difficult to cope with this strategy, especially in the second set.

The Madrid Open draw was shared on X (formerly Twitter), which listed the potential opponents Nadal would face in the tournament.

Rafael Nadal’s Madrid Draw: R1 - Blanch, R2 - De Minaur, R3 - Tiafoe, R4 - Tsitsipas/Lajovic, QF - Medvedev/Shelton, SF - Sinner/Ruud, F - Alcaraz/Zverev/Rublev

Fans on social media suggested that De Minaur would immediately start perfecting his drop shot as soon as the draw was announced.

"De Minaur practicing his drop shots again" said a fan.

One fan thought that there was no way that Nadal would defeat De Minaur in the second round to progress further in the tournament.

"There's no way he is going past round 2!" opined a fan.

Here are some other reactions:

"Very tough draw, the only saving grace is that some of these players are not great on clay," said a fan.

"A brutal draw, as it should be," claimed a fan.

"What is this draw. This tournament can finish him," said a fan.

"De Minaur about to smoke him again," said another fan.

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Nadal looks to win a record 37th ATP Masters 1000 at Madrid Open

Mutua Madrid Open - Day Nine

Rafael Nadal will attempt to win a record 37th title at the ATP Masters 1000 level on the ATP tour. Nadal's current tally of 36 Masters 1000 titles is second only to Novak Djokovic's 40 titles.

The standards set by Nadal when it comes to playing on clay are unparalleled in the world of tennis. The Spaniard has won 26 of his 36 Masters titles on dirt, with the most number of titles in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome.

Nadal has a win ratio of more than 80% at the Madrid Open which has resulted in five titles for the Spaniard, the last of which came in 2017. From 2005 to 2021, Nadal has won at least one Masters 1000 event on clay out of the three that are held every year, except for 2015 and 2020.