Rafa Nadal signs an optimistic takeoff in Paris

It's opening day, so Paris gets pretty at after-dinner time and the Chatrier abounds in white hats, straw hats, blazers, lipstick;

whatever happens to receive Nadal, who ultimately, beyond the fact that the tournament is interpreted as a balanced three-way race between him, Djokovic and Alcaraz, remains the undisputed master of the court, the Chatrier , packed to the brim for the occasion.

The French crowd wants to see how that left foot responds, that big body that has been in neutral much longer than desired this year, and what they see they like very much: there is no sign of pain, Thompson allows experimenting and the Spaniard (triple 6-2, in 2h 02m) takes the

for a walk .

This first victory also comes accompanied by a record.

He has 106 wins at Roland Garros and thus becomes the tennis player who has won the most matches in the same Grand Slam, surpassing the figure of the Swiss Roger Federer (105) in his historic Wimbledon garden.

More information

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Somehow, Nadal – quoted on Wednesday with the local Corentin Moutet, 23 years old and 139th in the world – forgets all his ills when he puts his first foot in the central, his central.

He knows the Balearic Islands down to the last ins and outs of the Parisian court, expansive as they come, an open and deep field in which many players tend to lose references and end up losing themselves.

This is the case of Thompson, who appears with an eighties mustache, surfer shorts and a backwards hat, as if he were going to a barbecue.

The Australian, 28 years old and 82nd in the world, capicúa, wants to contribute.

Since he has had to dance with the Mallorcan in the first round and, therefore, will probably have to catch a plane to Sydney at night, he chooses to go toe-to-toe and amuse the staff.

Claps for him.

The result is an entertaining duel in which he takes risks and Nadal plays around, testing the Balearic all the mechanisms he needs to activate to disembark in the second week with strength and with real options to win his 14th title in Paris.

At the moment, the release is positive.

Thompson willingly accepts the game and he, file up, green down, rehearses and checks.

The mobility exceeds the cut and the maneuvers gain neatness as he scratches games, reactive, relentless in the first quarter and somewhat more entangled in the second, but without setbacks in any phase;

little or nothing to object.

Good tone in general, authority and a hopeful sign: the

(or left-handed if he prefers to dispense with tennis jargon) is awake.

And the appetite intact.

“It is a gift to be here”

Thompson, willful and with good shots, with a very brief track in sand (33 games in his entire career), offers a lot of pace and although the reward is scarce, he replicates in almost all points.

He also gets pissed off, and in one of those he pays for it with the ball, which after the racket shot travels and travels and travels upwards until it avoids a side stand and lands in the Plaza de los Musketeers.

Comprehensive, the crowd applauds her.

He knows how to recognize Chatrier's efforts.

The claps that follow an impressive series of runs by Nadal during a rally in which the Australian commands and he returns in tow, as if he were him, are even more resonant;

he does not reach the final drop, but the public appreciates the non-negotiable waste of a tennis player almost 36 years old (he turns on June 3) who chases the ball like the one who dazzled Paris at 19.

“

” [We love you Rafa, let's go], a couple of assistants dedicate to him during the last round, aware that at this point Nadal surely needs more love than ever.

These are not easy times.

The pain chronically engulfs his left foot and, more complicated, has begun to seep into the spirit of a hitherto impervious mindset.

In any case, he remains in the breach and retains all the ardor.

"At this point in my career, it's a gift to be here," he says before leaving the track.

“It is positive to have won in three sets, but there is a significant margin for improvement and we are going to go step by step”, he adds.

After the improbable Australian conquest at the beginning of the course and last year's elimination in the semifinals, against Djokovic, he accepts and faces the umpteenth challenge in Paris with a plus of ambition.

The 22nd major, which would be his 14th trophy in the Bois de Boulogne, they well deserve it.

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