Madrid Open—Madrid, Spain
Nadal Wins in Madrid
Five-time former winner Rafael Nadal raced into the second round of the Madrid Open on Thursday, defeating Darwin Blanch 6-1, 6-0.
Striking two aces, winning 79 percent of his first serve points and breaking serve on five occasions, Nadal needed one hour and four minutes to advance.
The legendary Spaniard will next face No. 10 seed Alex de Minaur for a place in the third round. Nadal lost to de Minuar in the second round of the Barcelona Open last week.
Elsewhere, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Roberto Bautista Agut, Jakub Mensik, Thiago Monteiro and Roberto Bautista Agut all reached the second round.
On the women’s side, former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka was ousted by Liudmila Samsonova 6-2, 4-6, 7-5. Osaka, who returned to the Tour this year in Australia, has been looking to regain her championship form.
The Japanese star will be back in action at the Rome Masters later in May.
Swiatek Wins Easily
Top seed Iga Swiatek and No. 3 seed Coco Gauff cruised into the second round of 32, while unseeded American Sloane Stephens continued her good form on clay.
The former US Open champion recently won the WTA event in Rouen, France.
Friday’s action at the Madrid Open will feature No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz in his first action during the clay-court season and women’s No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka. No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev will also be featured in the order of play.
Watch all the action live this week from the Madrid Open on Tennis TV.
Get ready for the year’s second Major today, with great tickets to the French Open in Paris. Nadal has stated that this year could be his final trip to Paris as a professional player.
