Rafael Nadal has admitted the crowd at the Manzanares Tennis Park Center played a huge role in his successful opening round victory at the Madrid Open 2016.
Nadal opened his Madrid Open campaign in winning fashion, seemingly carrying his momentum from his back-to-back title wins in the clay-season. The 29-year-old confessed that the crowd played in his masterful 6-3 6-3 victory over Russia's Andrey Kuznetsov in the second round of the Madrid Open, which Nadal noted was the case every time he plays in the Spanish capital.
''Well, always, you know, here in Madrid -- I don't have to repeat it every single time I come here. Of course it's clear that whenever I play in Spain, but especially here in Madrid, people support me'' Nadal told ASAP Sports.
''I feel how much they support me, and it helps me to play better and win matches. Gives you extra energy, no doubt about that. It's one of the crowds that helps the local player to win matches.''
Nadal had four aces in a match that lasted for an hour and 18 minutes, winning his 11th consecutive match since he started the clay-season in Monte Carlo last month. Following a rough start to the season, the 14-time Grand Slam winner showed the results of his continuous hard work of getting back to his vintage form.
But despite the early victory, Nadal understands he needs to be consistent with his serve and keep up with the level of play that earned him titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona in the past two weeks.
"My serve has been solid," Nadal said, reports The New York Times. "I served well both in Monte Carlo and in Barcelona. And it's going to be vital to serve well here, as well to have a good tournament."
The victory gave Nadal a Round of 16 matchup against American Sam Querrey, who needed three sets to defeat Frenchman Lucas Pouille 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4. Nadal has won all of his three meetings against the 28-year-old Pouille, but it was back in 2008, when Spain defeated the United States in the Davis Cup World Group semifinal round.
If Nadal gets past Pouille, he could either face USA's Jack Sock or Portugal's Joao Sousa in the quarterfinal round of the ATP 1000 Masters event.