Rafael Nadal: 'The only way out of this nightmare is...'

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• Rafael Nadal

After an easy return to competition against Federico Delbonis (87), in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo Rafael Nadal (ATP 3) overwhelmed the unfortunate Grigor Dimitrov (17) and gained access to the quarter-finals.

The first fraction was an exclusively Majorcan issue, the Bulgarian was not able to fight the king of clay even on one occasion. Although Dimitrov showed a timid reaction at the end of the first set, in the second he immediately took the break.

Break easily confirmed by Nadal, who then repeatedly broke the serve from number seventeen in the ranking, ending the contest with a double 6-1. Rafael Nadal claimed during his press conference on Wednesday that the COVID-19 vaccine was the world's only option to restore some semblance of normalcy.

Rafael Nadal talks about the vaccine

"The only way out of this nightmare is vaccination," Rafael Nadal said. "Our responsibility as human beings is to accept it. I know there is a percentage of people who will suffer from side effects, but the effects of the virus are worse." In that context, Rafael Nadal revealed during his post-match interview on Wednesday that he would readily get vaccinated himself whenever he was eligible to do so.

"If I am given this chance, I will be vaccinated," Nadal said. The 11-time Monte-Carlo Masters winner Rafael Nadal was the third seed, whereas Daniil Medvedev was second seed this year. Before the day of their first match, they both spent some time on the red dirt working out.

However, the next day, the official message came out stating that Medvedev’s campaign had ended before it could start. “As much as I know about the way that you can be infected, it was not the way that I was (…) with Daniil.

I never have been in touch with him, never have been closer than four meters, something like that. Just at the end to say thanks for one second,” Nadal explained. The Monte-Carlo Masters 2021 is only the second overall and first clay tournament for Rafa Nadal this year.

Even so, he dominated over the Argentine and made it clear that clay is his and only his kingdom. Nadal has always played with color and style. Traditionally, he brought back the sleeveless shirt to the tennis scene. This year at Australian Open 2021, Nadal featured with a quite simple and sober orange shirt and white shorts.

But at Monte Carlo, Nadal has turned heads. Nadal wore a ‘screaming purple’ t-shirt. The t-shirt is a V-neck one and has the usual Nadal logo on the right and the Nike logo on the left. The neckline and logos are guava-colored. As the name of the purple, Nadal looked in screaming form at Monte Carlo where he has won 11 titles.