Rafael Nadal reached the third round at the Madrid Open with an impressive straight-set win over Australian Alex de Minaur.
The Spaniard, 37, won 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 to take revenge on the opponent who knocked him out of the Barcelona Open 10 days previously.
Five-time champion Nadal is playing on the Madrid clay for the final time, in what he expects to be the last season of his career.
He will face Pedro Cachin next after the Argentine beat American 20th seed Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 6-4.
“I am super-happy to be competitive against a player like Alex de Minaur,” Nadal told Sky Sports.
“Tennis hasn’t been the issue, it is more the physical issues. If I am able to play tennis, I will see how far I can go. Step by step, let’s see how I recover.”
British number one Cameron Norrie recorded a comfortable 6-1 6-4 win over Brazil’s Joao Fonseca to set up a meeting with Norwegian fifth seed Casper Ruud, who beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4 6-1.
Italian world number two Jannik Sinner and Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev both also progressed.
Australian Open champion Sinner, 22, beat compatriot Lorenzo Sonego 6-0 6-3, while Medvedev came from behind to win 2-6 6-4 6-4 against Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi.
However, Greek sixth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas – champion in Monte Carlo earlier in April – went out following a 6-4 6-4 loss to Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro.
Nadal said this week he will only play at the French Open next month if he feels “capable enough to compete”. BBC
