After spending more than three hours on the court and achieving a hard-fought victory, Rafael Nadal felt optimistic again.
The Spaniard’s body withstood its toughest test so far at the Madrid Open, as he needed three sets to beat Pedro Cachin, number 91 in the ranking, on Monday.
Nadal showed no signs of physical limitation and won 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 to reach the round of 16 in the clay court tournament where he is the record five-time champion. .
“It’s positive, now I don’t feel like anything has gone wrong with my body, but I need to wait until tomorrow, being 100 percent honest,” he said.
“I’m doing everything I can to keep dreaming. Tomorrow is another day to keep dreaming. Keep playing in front of this incredible crowd and, to me, that means everything.”
Nadal will next face Jiri Lehecka, number 31 in the ranking. He said he needs to “find a way to be able to play back-to-back days and still be competitive.”
“I don’t know if I’m at that point yet,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said.
“Let’s see what can happen tomorrow. But I’ll try. I’ll do things the right way to try to be ready for tomorrow.”
Nadal, 37, is trying to get fit for next month’s French Open. Since his last loss due to injury, he has played two games in Barcelona and was pessimistic about his physical condition after arriving in Madrid. But he has won three times as many in the Spanish capital.
Nadal looked comfortable again from the start against Cachin. The Argentine fought back in the second set, but suffered two serves while serving for the set. Cachin finally won the tiebreaker.
Nadal didn’t seem so relaxed in the last set, but he did look tired. He wasn’t as consistent in his shots but got three breaks to seal the victory to the delight of the home crowd at the Caja Mágica.
“I took more risks in the third set, but it’s difficult after so many months without competing,” Nadal said.
“I haven’t played a game like this in a long time. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow. I don’t know how I’m going to wake up. But I’m already happy for having won three games in a row. “
Top seed Jannik Sinner was not at his best, but he had enough to defeat Pavel Kotov 6-2, 7-5. Sinner, who has been dealing with a hip issue, will face 16th seed Karen Khachanov.
“I’ve been struggling a little bit with my right hip,” Sinner said. “We’re trying to find a solution and I don’t think it’s anything serious. Sometimes it feels more like today and some days are a little better.”
Daniil Medvedev came back to defeat Sebastian Korda 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3. The Russian, seeded third, was two points away from defeat.
Fifth-seeded Casper Ruud beat Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-4.
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AP
Aware , updated
