Rafael Nadal’s comeback gathers pace as he reaches Madrid Open fourth round

Rafael Nadal acknowledged that his performance has become less stable compared to before, while extending his winning streak at the Madrid Open by defeating Argentinian player Pedro Cachín in a challenging match.

Nadal, who has struggled with injuries throughout this year, triumphed over Cachín with a score of 6-1, 6-7(5-7), 6-3 in a three-hour-and-four-minute match on Monday. This match indicates that he may be able to spark his career up again, just in time for the French Open which begins next month.

This marks the Spaniard's first appearance in the fourth round of an ATP Tour event since 2022. Although he has only participated in three tournaments this year, he holds the record for the most victories in Madrid, with five titles to his name.

Nadal spoke to the reporters after his match on Monday and said that he could not anticipate what might occur the next day or what his performance would be like.

I am more uncertain than in the past...It is unknown what could occur during the night or what my state will be upon waking up tomorrow, and that is factual.

Cachin, who is ranked 91st in the world, expressed his delight at having the opportunity to play against Nadal during the post-match interview. He even called it a dream come true. Furthermore, Cachin went on to request memorabilia in the form of Nadal's shirt or towel as a keepsake of his experience.

The player who has won 22 grand slam titles kindly gave Cachín one of his purple t-shirts before they departed from the court.

The emotional moment occurred after a close match where Nadal easily won the first set but had to battle back during the second set.

He was able to bounce back from a dual fracture and prevent two opportunities for his opponent to win the set before eventually tying the game in a tie-break.

During the final set, the 37-year-old showed his superiority and relentlessly fought for the win. This is noteworthy since he hasn't played more than two sets of tennis since the beginning of January.

Nadal, who emerged victoriously over Alex de Minaur, ranked tenth in the world, in the second stage, will now be facing Jiří Lehečka from the Czech Republic in the knockout stage on Tuesday.