MADRID — Rafael Nadal got off to a good start on his return from injury, defeating Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
Nadal showed few signs of rust in his opening 6-1, 7-6(4) victory at home. He cruised through the first set and rallied in the second after twice losing serve following a rain interruption.
“My preparation has not existed. You can’t expect big things at first,” she said. “Overall I played a good game. The first set was very good. I don’t consider the second set a bad set, but as I say, when you haven’t competed for a long time, it’s normal for you to have ups and downs in a match because you have to get back to the routine. “
The match lasted almost two hours, but it was quick enough to allow Nadal to watch Real Madrid’s Champions League match on Wednesday night in the Spanish capital. Tournament organizers said Nadal asked to play in the afternoon so that his match would not coincide with Madrid’s semi-final match against Manchester City.
“Yes, there is going to be a spectacular atmosphere there. I would love to get there a little earlier, but I am answering the questions well enough, and I think well enough, to be fair to you,” Nadal said, smiling, in the post. – Party press conference.
Nadal is a Madrid fan and gave the ceremonial kick-off at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on Saturday before the team clinched the Spanish league title with a win against Espanyol.
Fourth-ranked Nadal had been out for nearly 45 days after a stress fracture in his ribs halted his breakthrough start to the season, highlighted by winning his 21st Grand Slam title with victory at the Australian Open.
“Coming from injury, I always need to play a lot of matches to get back to my best form,” Nadal said. “Winning is very important to give me confidence.”
Nadal was sailing before he was injured in the semi-finals in Indian Wells, where he lost the final to Taylor Fritz in his first loss of the season. Nadal missed the tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
Third-seeded Nadal had been playing down expectations of winning his sixth Madrid Open title, and first since 2017.
However, Nadal, 35, looked strong in the first set, breaking serve twice against Kecmanovic, ranked 32nd in the world. He had more trouble after the match was interrupted for about half an hour with Kecmanovic leading 1-0 in the second set when the roof of Center Court had to be closed. Nadal lost two breaks, even while serving for the match at 6-5, but eventually prevailed in the tie break by converting his first match point with an ace.
Nadal could face the quarterfinals against Spanish teen sensation Carlos Alcaraz, and a semi-final against top-ranked Novak Djokovic or former No. 1 Andy Murray.
If he wins in Madrid, Nadal will level with Djokovic in a record 37 Masters 1000 titles.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev previously defeated Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, setting up a third-round encounter with American Sebastian Korda.
Third-placed Zverev is looking for his first title of the season. He lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals of Monte Carlo. Zverev also won in Madrid in 2018.
“I think I played very well. I just lost concentration in the first set,” Zverev said. “Marin is a tough opponent, especially with the altitude here, so I’m happy with this match.”
Qualified Dusan Lajovic defeated fifth seed Casper Ruud 7-6 (7), 2-6, 6-4, while ninth seed Cameron Norrie defeated American John Isner 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6- Four.
Daniel Evans needed almost three hours to defeat 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (2).
Marc López retired after losing his doubles match with Alcaraz 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 to Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski. López, who won the Olympic gold medal in doubles with Nadal in 2016, joins the coaching staff of the great Spaniard.
Reference-www.espn.com