MADRID – Rafael Nadal avenged his Barcelona Open defeat by Alex de Minaur with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 victory over the Australian on April 27 to extend his stay in Madrid.

But, on his final appearance at his home tournament, the 37-year-old admitted that he still “needs time” to return to his competitive peak.

Nadal’s farewell tour has pitted him against de Minaur twice in as many weeks but this time, the result was reversed after a battle that stretched just over two hours, as the 22-time Grand Slam champion advanced to a third-round meeting with Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.

In front of a capacity crowd that included the King of Spain, Felipe VI, French football icon Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr, Nadal dug deep to dismiss the world No. 11, despite admitting ahead of the tournament he was still struggling with numerous physical issues.

It was an impressive performance from the Spanish veteran, but he immediately dismissed the idea it was anywhere near his vintage form.

“No, not yet. It needs time,” said Nadal on court.

“To play over two hours means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke. Just step by step and let’s see how I recover.”

The five-time Madrid champion said he will not make a decision on playing at the French Open until after the May 8-19 Italian Open and explained the key factor that would determine his participation.

“It’s not a thing about losing or winning. It’s about going on court there with the feeling that I can fight and I can be competitive,” said the record 14-time Roland Garros champion.

“So if I am not able to go on court and dream, for me, it doesn’t make sense to go. I prefer to stay with all the amazing memories that I have.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered a surprise second-round exit at the hands of world No. 118 Thiago Monteiro.

Tsitsipas, who arrived in the Spanish capital with only one defeat in 11 matches on clay this term, lost 6-4, 6-4 to the Brazilian qualifier in just over 90 minutes.

The Greek world No. 7 had a first round bye and came into the tournament on the back of a third title triumph in Monte Carlo and a runner-up showing in Barcelona in the previous two weeks.

But the left-handed Monteiro looked more comfortable on court, benefitting from having already won three matches last week, through qualifying and the main draw.

“For sure, this is one of the biggest wins of my career,” said Monteiro, who is through to the third round of a Masters 1000 event for the first time.

Since the start of 2021, this is just the second time in 11 Masters clay tournaments where Tsitsipas has not made at least the quarter-finals, and the 25-year-old Greek was disappointed by his performance.

“I felt out of rhythm the entire match on my returns. I felt very disbalanced and just my body was going all over the place,” said Tsitsipas.

Top seed Jannik Sinner had no problem in reaching the third round. He extended his unbeaten record against fellow Italians to 13-0 by defeating his Davis Cup teammate and good friend Lorenzo Sonego 6-0, 6-3 in just 69 minutes.

Through to the third round in Madrid for the second time in three appearances, the world No. 2 will face Pavel Kotov for a place in the last 16.

Third seed Daniil Medvedev recovered from a set down to squeeze past tricky Italian Matteo Arnaldi 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 and set up a third round against American Sebastian Korda.

In the women’s draw, the 2023 finalist Iga Swiatek eased past Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-1 to book a fourth-round meeting with home favourite Sara Sorribes Tormo.

Play on the Manolo Santana stadium court started with the roof closed due to wet conditions but that had no effect on Swiatek, who faced just two break points and dropped serve once en route to a 1hr 18min victory.

“For sure, the weather is different than last year but still I know how to play in these kind of conditions. I feel really comfortable,” said Swiatek, who is seeking a third WTA 1000 crown of the season.

Ons Jabeur, the 2022 champion, came back from 4-2 down in the decider to overcome Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 and move into the last 16.

US Open champion Coco Gauff almost blew a 5-0 lead in the first set of her third-round match before defeating Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska 6-4, 6-1.

On April 28, Stuttgart champion Elena Rybakina eased past Egypt’s Mayar Sherif 6-1, 6-4 for her WTA Tour-leading 28th win of the season. She will meet Czech teenager Sara Bejlek next for a place in the quarter-finals

Also through to the last 16 is Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild 6-3, 6-3 and will meet Jan-Lennard Struff next. AFP