Madrid tournament | Auger-Aliassime and Nadal advance to round of 16

(Madrid) Félix Auger-Aliassime reached the round of 16 of the Madrid Tennis Open on Monday after taking advantage of the retirement of Czech Jakub Mensik while leading 6-1, 1-0.

Mensik raised the white flag after 35 minutes of play, after being broken in the first game of the second set.

It was the first career match between the 23-year-old Quebecer and Mensik, who is 18 years old. Auger-Aliassime will meet in the next round on Madrid clay with the Norwegian Casper Ruud (no. 5), who ousted the Briton Cameron Norris (no. 29) 6-2, 6-4.

The Quebecer won 92% of the points with his first service ball, and he was not faced with a single break point before his opponent gave up. He converted all three of his break points.

Auger-Aliassime, who is at 35^e world level, reached the fourth round of a Masters 1000 series tournament for the first time since Indian Wells in 2023.

Mensik was having a good season so far. He upset ninth seed Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday, and defeated former world No. 1 Andy Murray and current world No. 8 Andrey Rublev en route to the final of the Doha tournament earlier this year .

However, after reaching his first ATP Tour final, he withdrew from the next tournament, in Dubai, in the second round due to a right elbow injury. He admitted the injury worsened at Indian Wells, where he bowed out in the second round.

Mensik taped his right arm between the two innings on Monday.

Victory for Nadal

Rafael Nadal, who is attempting a final return to form at almost 38 years old despite his battered body, reached the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 in Madrid by defeating the Argentinian Pedro Cachin (91) in more than three hours.^e) 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 Monday, one month before Roland-Garros.

The Spaniard with 22 Grand Slam titles had not won three matches in a row since the 2022 United States Open. He will face the young Czech Jiri Lehecka (31) on Tuesday.^e) for a place in the quarter-finals.

Among the ladies, Iga Swiatek can still dream of a first career title at the Madrid Tennis Open, after easily defeating Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-1, 6-0.

The Pole, who is the tournament favorite, won her last 12 games of the match and only conceded five points in the second set. Swiatek at the same time reached the quarter-finals of the only European tournament on clay which still eludes him.

Sorribes Tormo, 27^e world player, was the only Spanish player still competing in Madrid.

Swiatek, who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in the final in Madrid last year, will face No. 11 in the next round.^e seed Beatriz Haddad Maia, who upset fifth seed Maria Sakkari 6-4, 6-4.

For her part, eighth seed Ons Jabeur defeated Latvian Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 6-4.

With Tales Azzoni, from the Associated Press