1 Response to madrid14nadal_bautista

1. Voo de Mar says:

   July 20, 2026 at 3:08 pm

   Unreturned serves:
   21 % Nadal – 11 of 51
   9 % Bautista – 7 of 77

   Bautista [45] was already 26-year-old, without any significant title, a fresh Top 50 player, but in retrospect is clear that an unexpected semifinal in the Spanish capital it wasn’t his ceiling. In the first two rounds he ousted two much higher and more experienced compatriots (Robredo, Verdasco), then he took an advantage of a favourable draw eliminating a lucky loser and a qualifier (Kubot, Giraldo), and played a competitive match against Nadal [1]. Bautista wasn’t worse in typical baseline exchanges, Nadal needed to serve really well at the end of each set to defeat the stubborn fellow Spaniard. That event it was a boost of confidence for Bautista, and one month later he would claim his maiden ATP title in the Netherlands… In the future he would play three more semifinals at the Masters 1K level (won in Shanghai ’16, lost in “Cincinnati” ’20 and Miami ’21).

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