Chronicle: Nadal accelerates on time and knocks down a huge Ivashka | Count of Godó 2021

To beat Rafael Nadal at his club and on the track that bears his name, you need more than just find one of the best matches of your career. Ilya Ivashka was able to experience it this Wednesday on the Rafa Nadal court of the Conde de Godó Trophy. The Belarusian, arrived from the previous one, collected unlikely shots for two hours and even snatched a set from the king of the land, but ended up giving up (3-6, 6-2, 6-4) in a match that forced the maximum to Rafa, but that places him in the second round of the Godó with a match rhythm that he probably did not even imagine. Nadal’s debut at the Godó was not as everyone imagined. Cloudy day on the track that bears the name of the eleven-time champion in Barcelona and clouds also from the first moment in the head of the Manacor. Ivashka’s game forced him to get to the highest possible level, since already shot due to his qualifier status and without any fear of the match, the Belarusian surprised with an initial break that put him, surprisingly, in command of the scoreboard. but he could not find the key to stop his rival’s clubs, always firm from the back of the court and impenetrable at the service. Rafa had only one break option in the first set, something practically unprecedented on clay, but he could not break Ivashka, who after a tough battle was scoring the first set. The world number 111 made Godó tremble with his partial victory over everyone’s favorite. Nadal’s plan had to be to go on the attack and not survive the Belarusian missiles of Ilya, the pupil of the Spanish Pepe Checa, and the Manacorense knew how to read perfection what happened, obtaining a prize for the first exchange rate.The opening break of the second round went to Rafa, who from then on knew how to build and manage his advantage until he obtained a second break that ended the contest. The match would be decided in the third set. Ivashka seemed possessed by the spirit of Martin Verkerk, that Dutch puncher who took a surprise appearance in a Roland Garros final despite being theoretically allergic to gravel courts. With a profile to make a difference on fast tracks, the Belarusian made things very, very difficult for Rafa Nadal during the more than two hours of the game, such was the level of Ilya that Nadal had to wait for the seventh game of the final set to find a crack through which to sneak in with the Belarusian in service. Two failures by Ivashka against a Nadal with the forced chip of the big games served for the Balearic to break the serve and, minutes later, with the sobriety of the one who has been doing it all his life, he ended the contest to wait for Garín or Nishikori in the second round end of Godó.