Rafael Nadal beats David Goffin by saving four match points in Madrid

On clay in Madrid, Rafael Nadal emerged victorious from his confrontation against David Goffin after a long duel of 3:09. Pushed to his limits, the Spaniard finally won in three sets (6-3, 5-7, 7-6 [11/9]). From the first set, the record holder for Grand Slam victories was surprised by the Belgian. Broken on his third serve, Nadal raises his voice. He broke in stride and scored four games in a row to take the first set. Nadal’s good momentum continues in the second act. He first takes the service of Goffin (at 2-1) before offering himself two match points. A first saved by the Belgian close to being broken a second time, before it was he who, during the next game, turned the tide to resume his service. The wind is turning. Led 5-3 and close to chaos, Goffin in turn launched a series, winning the last four games of the second set. Nadal did not crack The third set is a fierce fight of 1h21 where neither fighter wants to let go. The two protagonists go blow for blow and must decide between the tie-break. An incredible tie-break that will see Nadal take both game points from Goffin (2-1) before he loses his service in stride. The Belgian even manages to break his opponent again and puts him under pressure. But Nadal remains Nadal. While David Goffin played four match points, the Spaniard hung on to save his match. Rafa unbreaks, returns to the score and leads 10-9 by providing his two services. He then forces Goffin to make one last mistake to qualify for the quarter-finals of this Masters 1000 in Madrid. He will face this Friday the winner of the match between Cameron Norrie and Carlos Alcaraz.