Nadal returns with defeat in Cincinnati

• Masters 1,000 of Cincinatti Bautista overcomes the debut and Munar and Sorribes fall

It was a day of reunions for Rafa Nadal in

.

With tennis, having overcome the abdominal injury that made him give up the

semifinal five weeks ago, and with a

that he had not played since 2017. The proximity to the

had made him give up the last five editions, but this year he needed the shooting for that last 'great' of the course.

After almost three hours of the match, he said goodbye without having found the most important thing,

.

Lacking rhythm and legs, the Balearic fell in three sets against Croatian

(7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3).

The party had its trap.

Because that 152 in the ranking that Coric wears is the reflection of a shoulder injury that has kept him unemployed for a year, and from which he relapsed just before

, and not of his level, which gave him to be number 12 in 2019 with only 22 years old.

And because he had already beaten his idol two of his first three duels, including one on that same track.

The table came with curves and

derailed in the first.

The man from Manaco offered all the symptoms of a lack of rhythm.

Trouble getting the first serve.

To adjust shots that normally come automatically (13 unforced errors in the first round for only 7 winners).

To make a dent with the right in the game of a

who did not weigh taking the initiative.

The picture was even worse than the rest: at the beginning of the second set, the statistics showed that 65% of the Croatian's serves did not come back.

After almost 80 minutes of rain stoppage,

conceded the first set of the

with a double fault.

An anecdotal situation, but one that gained meaning in the context of a gray game where he couldn't find himself.

In their looks at the box where

was , there were more doubts than conviction.

Only one

more recognizable (more for character than for style) in the final stretch of the second.

Since neither the right nor the defense worked, he went on the attack.

More raises, more serves and volleys, more pressure on

.

In the spurt that followed Game 6 came the single

of the night and the first doubts of the Croatian were seen, a crack into which the Manacorí had thrown himself headfirst.

's definitive awakening

, but the only thing he met again in the third set was

.

The Croatian, once again whole, saved a 0-30 lead at the start of the decisive set and, with the Balearic again failing, tentatively, he achieved the definitive break in the sixth game.

Little was left of Nadal, little had been seen in the almost three hours of the game.

With less than two weeks to go until the

, he was far from the level he would have wanted.

In the round of 16, Coric will face

, who after the comeback against Francisco Cerúndolo got rid of the American

(6-3, 6-3) with more solvency.

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