Madrid open: Rafa’s home swansong to go on

Madrid, April 27

Rafael Nadal has not played his last match before his home fans. The 22-time Grand Slam champion beat Alex de Minaur 7-6(6) 6-3 in the second round of the Madrid Open today, avenging a loss to the Australian less than two weeks ago.

Nadal was cheered on by Spanish King Felipe VI, Zinedine Zidane and a raucous crowd that packed the Caja Magica to see what will most likely be the tennis great’s last tournament in Spain.

“I have been through some very difficult months when there were moments when I didn’t see the reason to continue, but I had the dream of experiencing feelings like this again and above all at home,” Nadal said.

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek eased into the Round of 16 by beating Sorana Cirstea 6-1 6-1. Swiatek, who lost last year’s final to Aryna Sabalenka, improved her record this season to 26-4.

Swiatek is preparing to make a run for a third consecutive title at the French Open next month. She is a three-time champion at Roland Garros (2020, 2022, 2023).

The Madrid Open is the only European clay tournament at the 500 level or above the Polish player has yet to win.

On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner downed fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-0 6-3 in the second round to improve to 5-0 against his countryman. The Australian Open champion had a first-round bye.

Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro upset Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4 in the second round. The seventh-ranked Tsitsipas fell to Monteiro, ranked 118th, after having run up a 10-1 record on clay going into the match. — AP