"Here comes Rafael Nadal & with Novak Djokovic gearing up… Could get pretty darn good" - John McEnroe's brother Patrick after Spaniard's Madrid 2R win

Rafael Nadal's emphatic return to clay has John McEnroe's brother Patrick anticipating thrilling competition on the ATP Tour.

The Spaniard who made his return on clay after almost two years at the Barcelona Open kicked things off with a win over Flavio Cobolli in straight sets. However, his run was ended in the next round by Alex de Minaur.

The 37-year-old then entered the Madrid Open, where he faced 16-year-old Darwin Blanch in the first round. He breezed past the young American 6-1, 6-0 to set up another second-round meeting with de Minaur. This time, however, the Spaniard came out all guns blazing and claimed a 7-6(6), 6-3 win over the Australian to proceed to the next round.

The former World No. 1 showed glimpses of his former self and seemed to have found his rhythm back. Former professional tennis player Patrick McEnroe expressed his excitement over the situation shaping up on the men's side after the Spaniard's return.

Patrick took to X (formerly Twitter) to highlight the 37-year-old's return and suggested that things could get interesting on the ATP Tour, courtesy of Novak Djokovic's presence and the younger generation stepping up.

"Well…. Here comes Rafa… And with Novak gearing up… And the young guys stepping up… This could get…. Pretty …..Pretty ….darn good," Patrick wrote.

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"Not yet, it needs time" - Rafael Nadal on returning to being 'old Rafa'

Rafael Nadal

Despite Patrick McEnroe's claim, Rafael Nadal is maintaining low expectations of himself. After his phenomenal win over de Minaur, the Spaniard was asked during his on-court interview if the 'old Rafa' was back.

The 22-time Grand Slam winner denied, saying he would need more time to return to his former self. While he was happy with his performance against a player of de Mianur's caliber, the former World No. 1 said he still had to improve. The Spaniard added that he was happy to be able to play for over two hours.

“No, no.. not yet (laughs). It needs time. I think for moments, it was a good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things. But it’s still on and off. Super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex. Playing over 2 hours means a lot to me," Nadal said (via Sky Sports).

Rafael Nadal will face Pedro Cachin in the third round and the winner will take on either Jiri Lehecka or Thiago Monteiro.