In Madrid

“Means everything to me!” Nadal reaches round of 16

Rafael Nadal also won his third match at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid on Monday. The 22-time Major winner defeated the Argentinian Pedro Cachin, who had beaten Sebastian Ofner in round one, 6:1, 6:7(5), 6:3 after 3:04 hours. 

Nadal will now face the Czech Jiri Lehecka. Nadal's possible quarter-final opponent would be the Russian number 3 seed Daniil Medvedev. The Vienna finalist also had some trouble with Sebastian Korda (USA-25) at 5:7,7:6(4),6:3.

"Some moments good, some not, but I found a way to progress," was Nadal's dry analysis on court. The jubilation beforehand was far more emotional, as this tournament is probably Nadal's farewell to his home country as a player. The 37-year-old didn't want to talk much about his physical condition. "Let's see how I wake up tomorrow, but playing at home means everything to me," said the 14-time French Open winner.

This is the first time he has reached the fourth round of a tour event since 2022. In the second round, he showed what he is still made of after the past year and a half of injuries by beating Alex de Minaur, ranked eleventh in the world.

At the Women's Masters 1000 at the same venue, Madison Keys caused a surprise in the round of 16 duel with her US compatriot Coco Gauff, seeded No. 3. Keys defeated the US Open winner 7:6(4),4:6,6:4, having trailed 2:5 in the first set and 2:4 in the third. The No. 5 seed, Maria Sakkari from Greece, was also knocked out in the last 16 against Beatriz Haddad Maia from Brazil, losing 4:6,4:6. Top seed Iga Swiatek from Poland, on the other hand, only dropped one game against Sorribes Tormo from Spain.