16-year-old Darwin Blanch drew Rafael Nadal as his opening-round opponent in today’s Mutua Madrid Open. And he had exactly the kind of reaction you’d expect.
Branch, in just his second Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) event, ranked 1,028 in the world, posted a selfie on Snapchat.
It has since gone viral.
In the image, the teenage prodigy can be seen cupping a hand over his face, eyes seemingly glazed with fear, and a caption stating: “Guys I play nadal wtf.”
It’s too funny.
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Darwin Blanch To Face Rafael Nadal At Madrid Open
Reaction to Darwin Blanch’s post about facing Rafael Nadal in the first found of the Madrid Open ranged from supportive to understanding.
Oh, and a lot of laughing emojis were peppered throughout as well.
There aren’t many among us who wouldn’t have had the same reaction to facing a 22-time Grand Slam singles champion.
There are a lot of things that had to come together for this matchup to even take place. Nadal is trying to claw his way back from injury. The Madrid Open is just his second after being out of action for three months.
Blanch, meanwhile, only got into this tournament as a wild card. It is only his second pro tournament period.
The other – the Miami Open last month – he also got in as a wild card. He is a very unlikely participant.
The age difference between Blanch and Nadal at the Madrid Open – 21-years, 117-day – is the largest in ATP history. Some added perspective? Nadal already had three Grand Slam titles to his name before Blanch was even born.
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A Learning Experience
Current world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz offered Blanch some advice about facing Nadal at the Madrid Open.
Darwin and Carlos have something in common – Alcaraz also played his first match against Nadal at the Madrid Open on his 18th birthday.
“I told him just to enjoy the moment,” Alcaraz said. “I told him that this moment is going to be really helpful to his career, that it was really important to mine when I faced him in 2021 the first time.”
Alcaraz said he was really scared by Nadals presence, the atmosphere and occasion when he played him for the first time when he was 18 years old in Madrid and could only win 3 games.
— Pavvy G (@pavyg) April 24, 2024
Imagine how it's going to be for 16 year old Darwin Branch from the USA!pic.twitter.com/zD0cJyskeP
Darwin Blanch might want to listen to that advice.
Alcaraz was beaten handily by Nadal, 6-1 6-2 at the Madrid Open in 2021.
A year later, though, he returned and beat both Nadal and Novak Djokovic en route to the title. He defended the title last year.
While the Open starts today, the Blanch-Nadal matchup is scheduled for tomorrow at 11 am Eastern. It should be fun to watch.
