"If you look up word fight in dictionary, cross out definition they give you and replace with Rafael Nadal" - Tennis fans ecstatic after Spaniard saves 4 MPs to beat Goffin in Madrid

Rafael Nadal treated his fans to yet another spectacle on Thursday, saving four match points before prevailing against David Goffin in the third round of the 2022 Madrid Masters.

The Spaniard was cruising along at one stage, having won the first set 6-3 and going a break up in the second. Goffin, however, refused to throw in the towel and saved two match points before forcing a decider.

With both players holding serve throughout the third frame, the match went to a tie-break. It looked, at times, like the Belgian was going to pull off a heist in front of the Madrid fans, but the 21-time Grand Slam champion had the last laugh.

After three hours and 10 minutes, the World No. 4 finally emerged victorious, sending his fans on social media into a tizzy.

Every adjective in the dictionary was dished out to describe the 35-year-old's fighting spirit and parallels were drawn to the Spaniard's favorite football club Real Madrid, who pulled off an equally impressive comeback against Manchester City in the Champions League semifinal on Wednesday night.

"I simply don’t know what to say. Let’s start with the facts: Nadal beats Goffin 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(9) in Madrid in a three hour thriller. It was almost the 9th time he has lost from match point up," one account posted. "Instead, it was the 17th time he has won from match point down! Astonishing."

"If you look up the word fight in the dictionary, just cross out the definition they give you and replace that with “Rafael Nadal”. It’s 1000x more accurate," another account posted.

"Real Madrid were almost knocked out yesterday and we went to the final and today Rafa saved 4 match points and won the match. It's a Madrid thing. Giving up is never an option," one fan tweeted.

This was not the first match the 21-time Grand Slam champion won in such fashion this year. With comebacks against Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open and Sebastian Korda at Indian Wells, this has been a common occurrence with the Spaniard in 2022, a welcome, albeit stressful development for his fans.

"Can we talk about how many dramatic matches Nadal has played in 2022?!" one user wrote.

Rafael Nadal one step closer to meeting Novak Djokovic for the 59th time

Rafael Nadal is one match away from facing Novak Djokovic after nearly an entire year

With the win against David Goffin, Rafael Nadal has moved one step closer to a 59th clash with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic. The Serb booked his place in the quarterfinals earlier on Thursday, thanks to a walkover from Andy Murray.

The Serb will square off against Hubert Hurkacz in his last-eight fixture, while the Spaniard will take on either Cameron Norrie or Carlos Alcaraz. Djokovic and the Mallorcan last played against each other in the semifinals of the 2021 Roland Garros, where the former prevailed in four sets to take a 30-28 lead in their head-to-head.

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Also Check Out :-Madrid Open 2022 Results