Rafael Nadal to make milestone 20th appearance at Madrid Open, his first in any ATP event

22-time Grand Slam champion, Rafael Nadal, made his first appearance here as a wildcard in 2003.

Rafael Nadal will be making his 20th appearance at the 2024 edition of the Madrid Open — an ATP 1000 Masters Event. It will also be the first time he makes 20 appearances at an ATP-level event. 

It wasn’t his only accolade over the weekend. The Rafael Nadal Foundation was the recipient of the Laureus Sport for Good Award. The award was presented at the 25th Laureus World Sports Awards that took place in Madrid on April 22.

Also present at the ceremony was Novak Djokovic, who was there to receive the Laureus World Sportsman of the Year award for the fifth time. The Serbian has now equalled Roger Federer’s haul of the same award.

Nadal is a five-time winner at the Caja Magica and continues his comeback in Madrid. The Spaniard will play American wildcard Darwin Blanch in his opening round and set up a possible second-round match with 10th seed Alex de Minaur. Nadal, 37, last won the Madrid Open in 2017, winning the final against Dominic Thiem.

20 – Madrid Masters will become the first ATP event in which Rafael Nadal will have 20 appearances in his career, he first appeared in this tournament in 2003 as a wildcard. Home. @atptour @MutuaMadridOpen pic.twitter.com/h2YE3dxTiT

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) April 23, 2024

His first event since Melbourne in January, at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona last week, saw him exit early in the second round against Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam winner had bested Flavio Cobolli in the first round. If Nadal progresses, he will look to avenge the defeat to the Australian in Barcelona. The Spaniard leads the Australian 3-2 in their head-to-head.

Nadal’s countryman, Carlos Alcaraz, will be eyeing a third straight win in the Spanish Capital. Alcaraz is the second seed at the two-week-long event. The 20-year-old will open against Alexander Shevchenko. Alcaraz, who was sidelined since March after sustaining a right arm injury in Miami, is chasing his sixth ATP Masters 1000 crown.

Jannik Sinner, the top seed in Novak Djokovic’s absence, leads the field with three titles in 2024. Should the Italian lift the Madrid Open trophy, he will be closer than ever to dethroning Djokovic as the No. 1. A title run will place him only 330 points adrift of the Serbian in the ATP Rankings. However, the 22-year-old is yet to make a significant impression in Madrid, having yet to make it past the third round in his two attempts.

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