Nadal shines in Madrid win, Swiatek advances

In Madrid, Rafael Nadal sought revenge against Alex de Minaur, who had previously defeated him in Barcelona. The Spanish player was able to come out on top with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 win over his Australian opponent on Saturday. This victory allowed Nadal to continue competing in his home tournament, but he acknowledged that he still requires more time to get back to his top form.

Nadal has faced off against De Minaur twice in the past few weeks as part of his goodbye tour. However, in their most recent match, the outcome was different as the legendary 22-time Grand Slam winner moved forward to the next round where he will compete against Pedro Cachin from Argentina.

Before the tournament, Nadal acknowledged that he was experiencing a lot of physical struggles. However, he persevered and managed to defeat the 11th-ranked player in the world by relying on his inner strength.

The 37-year-old put on a remarkable show, however, he quickly rejected the notion that it was as good as his earlier performances.

"Nah, not yet. It requires some time," Nadal stated while on the court.

Nadal, who has won the Madrid tournament five times, stated that he won't decide if he'll play in the French Open until after the Rome game, which begins next week. He also revealed the crucial factor that would influence his decision.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, a Greek tennis player, was defeated in the second round by Thiago Monteiro, who is ranked 118th in the world. The outcome of the match was unexpected.

In a little over an hour and a half, Tsitsipas was defeated by a Brazilian qualifier with scores of 6-4, 6-4.

Jannik Sinner, the highest-ranked player in the competition, continued his victorious streak against Italian opponents with a flawless 13-0 record. He took down his fellow Davis Cup teammate Lorenzo Sonego with a decisive 6-0, 6-3 win in only 69 minutes of playtime.

In the tennis tournament, Daniil Medvedev, ranked third, won against Matteo Arnaldi from Italy with scores of 2-6, 6-4, and 6-4. Meanwhile, on the women's side, Iga Swiatek had an easy victory over Sorana Cirstea from Romania with final scores of 6-1, 6-1. Swiatek will face Sara Sorribes Tormo in the next round.

The number eight ranked player, Ons Jabeur, defeated Leylah Fernandez from Canada with a score of 7-5, 2-6, 6-4, and advanced to the final 16.

American tennis player Coco Gauff secured herself a victory with a score of 6-4, 6-1 over Ukrainian opponent Dayana Yastremska.

Other games saw Greece's Maria Sakkari, seeded fifth, defeat Sloane Stephens from the United States with a score of 6-1, 6-3. Furthermore, Madison Keys, another American player, easily took victory against Russia's Liudmila Samsonova with a score of 6-2, 6-3. Lastly, Jelena Ostapenko from Latvia impressively defeated Argentina's Maria Lourdes Carle with a score of 6-3, 6-3.

The blog post was released on April 29th, 2024 in the newspaper Dawn.