Rafael Nadal repeats the verb over and over again: “Explore.” And it is applied thoroughly on this Monday in which the opponent, Pedro Cachín, becomes a test bed to be used, an ideal touchstone on which to experiment. This tennis thing is incredible. The Argentine – 29 years old and 91st in the world – had not won a match for half a year, until he landed in Madrid; 15 successive defeats. However, he refutes with faith and raises a long-term battle from which the Spaniard can draw valuable conclusions. Above all, his physique has resisted the progressive load that the competition has placed on him until now; Two days before, he reduced Alex de Minaur in two hours, and heading towards the round of 16 – the Czech Jiri Lehecka as opponent, 31st; at 4:00 p.m. (Teledeporte and Movistar+)— wins in 3h 04m: 6-1, 6-7(5) and 6-3. He had not had three wins since August 2022, at the US Open. He experiments, suffers and tests himself in this last episode, maintaining the line of progression.
“Every minute on the court has a very important value. “I’m really enjoying playing here,” he says at the foot of the court, after completing a resistance and erosion exercise in which he has considered up to 18 break options, of which he has validated half. “In the first set, he started with a little tension; In the second, he has decided to hit a little more, and I have become a little predictable; and in the third, I have decided to switch to parallel more times, which is what I have to do. Let’s see how I wake up tomorrow, hopefully well,” he says.
Nadal practically nails the first set. The Mallorcan deploys his full range, changing speeds and heights, varying, posing a labyrinth to the rival in each rally and opening angles with that drive so majestic and eternal, multiplied effects and a very high jackpot. A torture for the Argentine. As if time had not passed and all those hardships of the last two years had not passed, the Spaniard’s game flows from memory and for a long time he competes at his absolute whim, from here to there, from one side to the other. He slides with gusto and his forehand dictates, for old time’s sake. A delight. He cunningly charges on the opponent’s backhand and pendulumates on the shot, and Cachín, dizzy from so much coming and going, from so much trying to cushion all that carousel of attacks and not finding the key, begins to fade away. Pure trap.
The story of the South American is more than curious. After winning his first title (Gstaad), entering the top-50 and to make himself noticed—round of 16 in Madrid or semifinals in Shenzhen, for example—, becoming satisfied, he lost his appetite. It’s that simple. “When you don’t want to suffer in life, especially at these levels, it is impossible to win. “I didn’t want any challenge, that’s it,” he conceded these days in a meeting with Break Point. History changes on this Monday of rebellion, in which the monologue unexpectedly ends in an inverted direction. Who was going to say it. The tennis players fluctuate, there is crumb, there is late. Cachín grows, proposes more with the blow and entangles with arguments and intelligence, while Nadal loses a point of spark and inspiration, and ends up paying for it. He subtracts too short and is diluted.
And the opponent starts to tremble—two set balls disappear—and the resolution of the second set results in loss of control, no one hits the mark, no one closes. Cachín makes a mess, gives up 5-5 with a double fault and then it is Nadal, discolored in that section, who signs a disastrous game. But he corrects himself immediately; He breaks blank and breaks the tie. It happens that in the sudden death, Cachín opens a gap – 0-3 at the start – and recovers the ground, and despite the fact that the harassing shadow of the Mallorcan is getting bigger and the immense weight of mysticism is pressing on him, he maintains his composure and takes a sleeve trick to win the set. Nadal, who shortly before had portrayed him with an open serve, repeats and collides with the stratagem: the Argentine was waiting for him on that flank, and responds to the angled delivery with an exquisite backhand pass.
Nadal twists his gesture, aware that he has missed a golden opportunity and that the physical demands of the duel and the incessant up and down may perhaps take their toll on him at some point, given that he still lacks rhythm. Gasp, take a breath, reflect, digest. Replica. Cachín heads to the locker room to cool off, and upon his return he receives a severe slap in the face. But there are no curves. The cyclothymia continues and from 2-0 and 15-40 favorable to the Balearic Islands, it incredibly goes to 2-2 and a last dose of suspense. The one from Córdoba has no shortage of arrests, who rebels and revolts, and fights until the winning inertia of the Spaniard definitively takes over the match. Because no one beats a big head. He takes gold. Beyond the victory, the verification prevails that his body resists three hours of intense give and take. Magnificent news. Of course, there will be a toll. Without respite, Lehecka is approaching.
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