Rafael Nadal extended his stay in Madrid on what is probably his final appearance at his home event on Saturday by defeating Alex de Minaur 7-6 (6), 6-3. However, Nadal acknowledged that he still “needs time” to go back to his competitive best.
On his farewell tour, Rafael Nadal faced de Minaur twice in as many weeks, but the outcome was different this time around as the 22-time Grand Slam champion moved on to face Pedro Cachin of Argentina in the third round.
Even though he had acknowledged prior to the competition that he was still dealing with a number of health problems, Rafael Nadal went deep to defeat world No. 11 in front of a packed house that included Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane, and King of Spain Felipe VI.
The 37-year-old put up an amazing performance, but he quickly discounted the notion that it was even close to his peak.
“Not just yet, no. It takes time,” Nadal remarked on the court. “It means a lot to me to play for more than two hours, and this place has a really silly vibe.
“Just step by step and let’s see how I recover.”
The five-time Madrid champion Rafael Nadal stated that he will wait until after Rome, which begins next week, to decide whether or not to compete in the French Open and outlined the crucial element that would influence his decision.
It has nothing to do with winning or losing. The record 14-time French Open champion stated, “It’s about going on court there with the feeling that I can fight and be competitive.”
Thus, it doesn’t make sense for me to travel if I can’t go on court and dream. I would rather remain here with all of my incredible memories.”
Thiago Monteiro, ranked 118th in the world, unexpectedly eliminated Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round of competition.
In less than ninety minutes, Tsitsipas, who came to the Spanish capital having only suffered one loss in eleven clay-court games this season, fell to the Brazilian qualifier 6-4.
After winning a third title in Monte Carlo and finishing second in Barcelona the previous two weeks, the Greek world No. 7 entered the competition with a first-round bye.
Nonetheless, Monteiro, who is left-handed, appeared more at ease on the court and benefited from having already won three games this week in both the main draw and qualifying.
“This is undoubtedly one of my greatest victories to date,” declared Monteiro, who is making his first appearance in the third round of a Masters 1000 tournament.
This is only the second time in 11 Masters clay tournaments since the beginning of 2021 that Tsitsipas has failed to go past the quarterfinals, and the 25-year-old Greek was not happy with his play.
“During my returns, I felt out of rhythm the entire game. Tsitsipas remarked, “I felt really unbalanced and like my body was moving all over the place.
Jannik Sinner, the number-one seed, had no trouble getting to the third round.
In just 69 minutes, he defeated his Davis Cup teammate and close friend Lorenzo Sonego 6-0, 6-3 to increase his undefeated record against fellow Italians to 13-0.
For the second time in three tournaments, world No. 2 is through to the third round in Madrid, where he will compete against Pavel Kotov to go to the round of 16.
Daniil Medvedev, ranked third, overcame a setback to defeat challenging Italian Matteo Arnaldi 2-6, 6-4, 6-4, securing a meeting with American Sebastian Korda in the third round.
Iga Swiatek, the women’s finalist from the previous year, easily defeated Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-1 to secure a meeting with Sara Sorribes Tormo, the home favorite, in the fourth round.
Wet circumstances forced the roof of Manolo Santana Stadium Court to close before play began, but that didn’t stop Swiatek, who faced just two break points and dropped service once on his way to a one-hour, 17-minute victory.
“The weather this year is definitely different from last, but I still know how to play in these kinds of circumstances. This week, Swiatek, who is going for her third WTA 1000 title of the year, remarked, “I feel really comfortable.”
The 2022 champion, Ons Jabeur, overcame Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 to advance to the round of 16. She did it by overturning deficits of 0-3 in the opening set and 0-2 and 2-4 in the decisive.
U.S. Open winner Coco Gauff defeated Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-1 after nearly blowing a 5-0 lead in the opening set of their third-round match.
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