Rafael Nadal

Tennis Nadal defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in two sets in the second round.

Nadal earned two match points with a smash winner in the tenth point and sealed the deal with an ace in the next one. He created two break chances with a forehand crosscourt winner in game 11 and seized the first after Miomir's backhand error to open a 6-5 lead. The Spaniard fired two aces in game ten to prolong the set and gain momentum. Eager to fight, Kecmanovic pulled the break back in the next one after an extended exchange and Nadal's forehand error. Kecmanovic placed a volley winner in game two for 30-30 and landed another to bring the game home and get his name on the scoreboard. Nadal sprayed a couple of errors in the fifth game before closing it with a service winner for 4-1.

MADRID -- Rafael Nadal got off to a good start in his return from injury, defeating Miomir Kecmanovic in two sets to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Wednesday. Nadal showed few signs of rustiness in his 6-1, 7-6 (4) opening win at home.

Nadal was broken twice, including while serving for the match at 6-5, but eventually prevailed in the tiebreaker by converting his first match point with an ace. He lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Monte Carlo semifinals. Tournament organizers said Nadal asked to play in the afternoon so his match would not coincide with Madrid's semifinal game against Manchester City. The second set I don't consider it a bad set, but as I am saying, when you have been a long time without competing, it's normal that you have up-and-downs in a match because you have to recover your routine." "In general I have done a good match. Nadal showed few signs of rustiness in his 6-1, 7-6 (4) opening win at home.

Rafael Nadal enjoyed a winning return after a six-week injury break, opening his Madrid campaign with a 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) success over Serbia's Miomir ...

I’m very happy with the attitude today, so hopefully we’ll continue with this level.” “I was more aggressive this time, physically much better on the court. “Simona, it’s never easy to play against her, she’s a great champion, she was number one, a Grand Slam champion,” said the 27-year-old Jabeur, who is now 2-2 against Halep in their head-to-head. After a fairly routine opening set and a brief rain delay, Nadal faced significant resistance from the world number 32, who was broken in game five of the second set but struck back immediately as he started to find his range from the baseline. Nadal found an opening at 5-5 and broke on his first opportunity, thanks to a long backhand from Kecmanovic. The number three seed could not serve out the win though, dropping serve as Kecmanovic forced a tie-break. Nadal said his preparation for the tournament was “non-existent” due to his rib problem limiting his ability to train and was thrilled by how well he played against one of the most in-form players of the season.

Rafael Nadal has started this new season with great goals and new amazing records, like the 21st Slam won at the Australian Open. The serious foot injury he ...

In the first few weeks, I also struggled to sleep and breathe from the pain. It was a difficult time but I always thought that being there wrapped in negativity and complaining never helped. With just one tournament under his belt, Nadal accomplished a feat beyond imagination with the victory of the Australian Open, which came at the end of a physically exhausting comeback.

Rafael Nadal says his recovery from his rib injury is "unpredictable" despite appearing in good shape in his win over Miomir Kecmanovic at the Madrid Open.

“If you come back and if you win the first matches, then you're able to get your rhythm back again. "I think that yesterday [Tuesday] I started to feel a little bit better, and today also in the warm-up I was feeling well. "I have trained very, very little. I have had better days, worse days. You have to be truthful to yourself. "You have to be sincere with yourself whenever you can.

He will debut in singles on Tuesday 3 May on "Manolo Santana" against Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili. Carlos Alcaraz does not want to be satisfied and will ...

"The tournament can be defined with two people: Manolo Santana, who convinced the mayor and the people believed in the project thanks to him, and the other is Rafa Nadal," Lopez said. The Spaniard, who has won Roland Garros a record 13 times, will be looking to come into his own ahead of the tournament, which begins later this month. It is always difficult to play on these fields, ”he commented.

Rafael Nadal defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in two sets to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.

Nadal was broken twice, including while serving for the match at 6-5, but eventually prevailed in the tiebreaker by converting his first match point with an ace. I just lost focus in the first set,'' Zverev said. He lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Monte Carlo semifinals. Tournament organizers said Nadal asked to play in the afternoon so his match would not coincide with Madrid's semifinal game against Manchester City. The second set I don't consider it a bad set, but as I am saying, when you have been a long time without competing, it's normal that you have up-and-downs in a match because you have to recover your routine." Nadal showed few signs of rustiness in his 6-1, 7-6 (4) opening win at home.

Playing his first match in six weeks, Rafael Nadal defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 7-6 in the Madrid Masters second round. Rafa needed an hour and 55 ...

Rafa hit a smash winner at 5-4 in the tie break for two match points and landed an ace on the first to emerge at the top. He grabbed the first after Miomir's backhand error to move 6-5 in front and serve for the victory. Rafa drew first blood in the encounter's fourth game with a smash winner and fired an unreturned serve in the next one for 4-1.

Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates victory in his third round match against Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia on day seven of Mutua Madrid Open at La Caja Magica on May ...

ATP Madrid ATP Madrid ATP Madrid

The Australian Open champion was playing in his first event since picking up the injury at Indian Wells in March but showed little signs of rust, ...

"I don't have any pain in my rib. I just think that every minute that I am out there on the court is something positive," the 35-year-old said. "I leave the match very, very happy.

Nadal said his preparation for the tournament was "non-existent" due to his rib problem limiting his ability to train and was thrilled by how well he ...

I’m very happy with the attitude today, so hopefully we’ll continue with this level.” “I was more aggressive this time, physically much better on the court. After a fairly routine opening set and a brief rain delay, Nadal faced significant resistance from the world No.32, who was broken in the fifth game of the second set but struck back immediately as he started to find his range from the baseline. Nadal found an opening at 5-5 and broke on his first opportunity, thanks to a long backhand from Kecmanovic. The No. 3 seed could not serve out the win though, dropping serve as Kecmanovic forced a tie-break. “Today I was able to play 1 hour, 55 minutes against an opponent that was playing really well in these last months, so a really good victory, a lot of value to it,” the 35-year-old said. Nadal said his preparation for the tournament was “non-existent” due to his rib problem limiting his ability to train and was thrilled by how well he played against one of the most in-form players on the tour.

Rafael Nadal enjoyed a winning return after a six-week injury break, opening his Madrid campaign with a 6-1, 7-6(7/4) success over Serbia's Miomir ...

I’m very happy with the attitude today, so hopefully we’ll continue with this level.” “I was more aggressive this time, physically much better on the court. “Simona, it’s never easy to play against her, she’s a great champion, she was number one, a Grand Slam champion,” said the 27-year-old Jabeur, who is now 2-2 against Halep in their head-to-head. After a fairly routine opening set and a brief rain delay, Nadal faced significant resistance from the world number 32, who was broken in game five of the second set but struck back immediately as he started to find his range from the baseline. Nadal found an opening at 5-5 and broke on his first opportunity, thanks to a long backhand from Kecmanovic. The number three seed could not serve out the win though, dropping serve as Kecmanovic forced a tie-break. Nadal said his preparation for the tournament was “non-existent” due to his rib problem limiting his ability to train and was thrilled by how well he played against one of the most in-form players of the season.

Moya responds to Mouratoglou's comments about Nadal's chances at Roland Garros.

Last year, Nadal picked up his third French Open defeat after losing to Djokovic. Nadal's first French Open loss came in 2009, when he was stunned by Robin Soderling in the round-of-16. “Rafael Nadal is not going to play many matches, and it is extremely rare that he arrives at Roland Garros with so few matches.

After returning from rib injury to win his first match in Madrid, the Spaniard explained that it's not that comebacks come easier to him—it's that he ...

Having got the win, he now wants to keep playing at home in Spain while also getting back in shape for potentially another record-breaking run at the French Open. "I need to stay positive,'' said the third seed. "They have a really big value, and today's victory, for me it's really important." "From there onwards you have to build your game. Gael Monfils; Jessica Pegula vs. Simona Halep, Rafael Nadal vs. Madrid Previews and Picks: Novak Djokovic vs.

Although Rafael Nadal has won the French Open a record 13 times, renown coach Patrick Mouratoglou believes the Spaniard is not a favorite to win this year, ...

Despite not having enough match practice, Nadal is still considered a heavy favorite by many to lift the title. Fondly referred to as the King of Clay, Nadal has amassed an amazing record on the red dirt, including 62 titles, the most by any player in tennis history. The Spaniard took a few weeks off to recover, and is currently competing at the Madrid Open.

The 21-time Grand Slam champion battled past David Goffin in a Madrid thriller today, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (9), to achieve both milestones.

First off, it was the 1,050th win of Nadal's career. Facts & Stats Facts & Stats

Tennis - Nadal could meet Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid quarter-final.

Another smash winner created the fourth match point for Goffin, and Nadal saved it with a drop shot winner for 9-9. Goffin earned the third match point at 7-6, and Nadal denied it with a drop shot winner to extend the drama. Goffin held at 15 in game 11, and Nadal responded in the 12th to introduce a tie break. David survived deuce in the ninth game to remain on the positive side, and Rafa fired another powerful serve for a hold at love a few minutes later. Rafa held at love in game eight to lock the result at 4-4 and increase the drama. Rafa placed a forehand winner to wrap up the set in style and gain a boost ahead of the second.

Rafael Nadal saved four match points to battle past David Goffin in an exhausting 6-3 5-7 7-6(9) win and reach the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open.

Nadal eventually got across the line on his fourth match point, taking the tie-break 11-9, sparking triumphant celebrations to the crowd’s applause. Nadal raced into a 4-1 lead before a routine forehand found the net and Goffin’s fine cross-court shot, one of his finest shots of the afternoon, made it 4-3. He grabbed it up with a straining, low shot across court to haul the set back to 5-5 and then held for 6-5, before breaking again to take the set, with the Belgian now looking physically fresher.

Rafael Nadal might need time to find his best form after missing six weeks due to a stress fracture in his ribs. But on Thursday at the Mutua Madrid Open, ...

I enjoy playing in front of my people, seeing the support that I receive. “Working is not that easy, because when you start again, you have pains, pains in different places, so you need to manage them. “Mobility, stability in terms of [my] game, and of course adapting the body again. “We have to be ready tomorrow, being ready to accept that tomorrow things may not be easy. You have to learn how to live with these kind of moments, and also to enjoy this kind of suffering,” Nadal said. “At the end of the day you're suffering in the match.

Rafael Nadal paid tribute to Real Madrid for inspiring him to a battling win over David Goffin as he reached the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open.

ATP Madrid “Honestly, [it was] very tough. ATP Madrid

Rafael Nadal, the 21-time Grand Slam champion and world No. 4, says he limps on “many days of my life” because of a “chronic foot injury.”

But at the same time I am not completely happy because I have to finish the match in straight sets, without a doubt.” I think if I play a pretty good game, I'll have chances to win.” It's going to be a great day and a great match." Djokovic was scheduled Thursday to play three-time major champion and former world No. 1 Andy Murray, but advanced in a walkover because Murray dealt with a bout of food poisoning. But I am also conscious for [Friday], because I can wake up with more problems and we have to accept and face it.” “If you saw me on a daily basis, you would not be worried because I limp on many days of my life,” Nadal said.

Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz will meet for the third time on Friday in the quarter-finals of the 2022 Mutua Madrid Open. The Spaniards first met at the ...

Only two of the top six doubles seeds are still standing in Madrid, and they will meet Friday on Stadium 3 as Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos take on Colombians Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah. Granollers and Zeballos, the second seeds, took a Match Tie-break on Thursday to start their Madrid campaign with a win. Zverev leads Auger-Aliassime 4-2 in their ATP Head2Head, though Felix won their last meeting at the ATP Cup in January, an event Team Canada went on to win. He did not get a chance to win a fourth set after the retirement of Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev first met at the 2018 Intessa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals — a five-set win for the Greek — and have played three times in each of the past two years. Both Nadal and Alcaraz have won three tour-level titles in 2022, tying Rublev for the most trophies on the season. After looking sharp in an opening win against Gael Monfils, Djokovic advanced to the quarter-finals via a walkover against Andy Murray, who withdrew with illness. Djokovic leads the pair's ATPHead2Head 3-0, with one win on each surface. Alcaraz is 25-3 on the year, with one of those losses coming in three sets against Nadal in the Indian Wells semi-finals. Obviously I will have to focus on my defensive game a little bit more. Alcaraz celebrated his 19th birthday with a battling win over Cameron Norrie, making him the youngest Madrid quarter-finalist in the tournament's history. "Rafa is the best ever on clay. But Rafa is Rafa. The people love me more every day, but Rafa is much more famous.

A day after rushing from his victory to watch Real Madrid play Manchester City in the Champions League semifinals, Rafael Nadal needed the same fighting spirit ...

“This match is going to be different (from the Charleston final)," Jabeur said. The Tunisian is the first Arab player to reach a WTA 1000 final. “It was an incredible end to the match, but it should have never gotten to that point. On the next two, Nadal needed a couple of perfectly executed drop shots to stay in the match. “Our trajectory is about fighting, is about believing, is about trying till the last, until the match is done,” Nadal said. “We are a kind of team and player that we try till the end and we believe.

Serbian tennis player Miomir Kecmanovic's good form continues. The 22-year-old Balkan advances to the second round of the Mutua Madrid Open and will have a ...

A lot of what he did to win that match was already set in his DNA," O'Shannessy said. I think he didn't come to the net enough." "Players attacked him, they went after him and he didn't go after them enough.