"Threw him into the fire... seemed like perfect sh*tstorm against Rafael Nadal" - Lindsay Davenport on Darwin Blanch facing Spaniard at Madrid Open 1R

Lindsay Davenport recently gave her thoughts on 16-year-old American Darwin Blanch facing Rafael Nadal in the first round of the 2024 Madrid Open.

Nadal kicked off his final Madrid Open campaign against Blanch, defeating the American 6-1, 6-0 in a match that lasted just over an hour. This win propelled the Spaniard into the second round of the tournament.

Blanch was making his second appearance on the ATP Tour and struggled with 27 unforced errors, 20 of which were from his forehand. Notably, his first appearance was the 2024 Miami Open where he faced Tomas Machac in the first round and suffered a 6-4, 6-2 defeat),

In a recent episode of 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast, Lindsay Davenport revealed that she was surprised at Blanch's decision to take a main draw wild card for the 2024 Maimi Open, as she expected him to ease into the ATP Tour circuit by at least taking some qualifier wild cards.

"I was surprised that in Miami he rolled up and took a main draw wild card ‘cause, like you, I was like, isn’t there like a little bit of progression there from saying 15Ks to maybe playing qualies, like take a quali wild card. But he played pretty well in Miami; lost I think it was 4 and 2," Davenport said (at 41:08).

Davenport noted that facing Rafael Nadal in just his second ATP match was like being thrown into the "fire" for the 16-year-old, who was not prepared to take on one of the greatest players of all time.

"It seemed like against Rafa was just a perfect storm of being on a court like that—that big, throw in a little bit of altitude, throw in like the greatest player of all time, or obviously one of them, one of the three—and he just couldn’t play the way we’re used to seeing. So kind of threw him out into the fire. I think, on a side court against someone else, it would have been a lot better," she added (at 41:24).

The former World No.1 also speculated on Darwin Blanch's next steps following his loss at the Madrid Open. She reiterated that Blanch's match against the Spaniard looked like a "sh*tstorm."

"You obviously can’t control the draws, but it’ll be interesting to see what they do now. Like, where does he go from here? Obviously, getting a Challenger win, just a main tour-level match win, a Challenger win is the next goal, but there is a long view and insight for Darwin [Blanch], and I think that he’s got good people around him, and they’ll kind of figure it out, but that just seemed like a perfect like sh*tstorm against Rafa," she said (at 41:47).

Rafael Nadal on Darwin Blanch: "Played against an opponent with a great future in front"

Rafael Nadal and Darwin Blanch at Mutua Madrid Open 2024

Following his win against Darwin Blanch in the first round of the 2024 Madrid Open, Rafael Nadal commended the 16-year-old on his performance as well as expressed his confidence in Blanch's promising future in tennis. Nadal also conveyed his best wishes to the young American.

“I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes. I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks. It worked well. I’m happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future,” he said [via ATPTour.com].

Blanch, who was competing in his second ATP Tour event, mentioned that his experience at the 2024 Miami Open had helped him prepare for facing Nadal in front of a packed crowd at Caja Magica. He added that he has always thrived on playing in front of enthusiastic and large audiences.

“Obviously, Miami helped me [get used to the big stage] a bit, but it's always been a thing that I've liked playing with a crowd and I've always enjoyed that,” Blanch said.