Fact about Rafael Nadal making his debut at the historic Madrid Open

Rafael Nadal (No. 512 in the ATP world ranking) makes his debut in the tournament Madrid Open against a young and inexperienced opponent: Darwin Blanch. At just 16 years old, the Deerfield Beach, Florida native will be playing in only his second match at the ATP level.

However, beyond the clash between one of the best players in the history of tennis and an up-and-coming player who is just entering the professional sport, there is one fact that will transform this duel and make it stand at the top of the records for the longest duration. as for the Masters 1000.

The fact is that this match between the Spaniard and the North American in the first round of the Madrid Open will be the match with the largest age difference between two opponents in tournaments of this category.

While Nadal is 37 years old, Blanche is just 16, making this rivalry an age difference of 21 years and 117 days.

Thus, they will surpass the record of Richard Gasquet and Martin Landalucet, who met each other at the Madrid Open 2023. The difference in that match was 19 years and 204 days. Next up: Pete Sampras vs. Jimmy Connors (18 years and 344 days, Miami Open 1992), Ivo Karlovic vs. Taylor Fritz (18 years and 242 days, Toronto, 2016) and Tommy Haas vs. Ernesto Escobedo (18 years and 92 days, Rome, 2017).