De Minaur would be the highest-ranked opponent that Nadal has confronted in his two official tournaments this yr. The Spaniard suffered a season-ending harm on the 2023 Australian Open and underwent hip surgical procedure final June.

He returned on the Brisbane International in January and earned two convincing victories earlier than choosing up a micro muscle tear throughout his quarter-final defeat to Jordan Thompson. Since then, Nadal has been compelled to withdraw from the Australian Open, the Qatar Open, Indian Wells and the Monte-Carlo Masters.

He performed an exhibition match in opposition to Carlos Alcaraz in Las Vegas in the beginning of March, shedding in a match tiebreaker. Alcaraz clinched the inaugural 'Netflix Slam' 3-6 6-4 (14-12). Nadal's win over Cobolli additionally marked his first clay match since June 5, 2022, when he gained his 14th French Open title.