World No. 5 Rafael Nadal opened his bid for his fifth Madrid Open crown with a dominant 6-3, 6-3 victory over Andrey Kuznetsov on Tuesday. The resurgent Spaniard is now on an 11-match winning streak after title wins at the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open in April.
The 14-time Grand Slam winner, who is looking to break his tie with Guillermo Vilas for the maximum number of claycourt title triumphs, produced 22 winners against just nine unforced errors. He will next take on the winner of the match between Lucas Pouille and Sam Querrey.
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Defending champion Andy Murray had a much tougher job as he was put to a stern test by the vastly experienced Radek Stepanek. The 37-year-old Czech, who was a qualifier, troubled the Scot with his precision and even snatched the second set. But the World No. 2 survived the onslaught to win it, 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-1.
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In the third round, Murray will be squaring off against the Estoril finalist Pablo Carreno Busta or Gilles Simon. Busta toppled the Istanbul finalist Grigor Dimitrov, 7-6(3), 6-3.
10th seed Richard Gasquet and 11th seed Milos Raonic both had to sweat it out for three-set victories over their respective opponents. While Gasquet prevailed over Fernando Verdasco 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, Raonic got the better of Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-4, 6(3)-7, 6-2.
A pair of youngsters also won to set up two blockbuster second round matches. Nick Kyrgios, who had upset Roger Federer at this venue in 2015, beat Guido Pella 7-6(7), 6-4 and Borna Coric thrashed Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 6-2. Kyrgios now goes to meet the fourth seed Stan Wawrinka whereas Coric now awaits the top seed Novak Djokovic.
Also read: Madrid Open Round-up: Roger Federer withdraws; Garbine Muguruza bites the dust
The recently-crowned Munich champion Philipp Kohlschreiber and Benoit Paire, however, bowed out in three-set losses.
Emotional win for Del Potro
Juan Martin del Potro returned to his winning ways at Madrid in a 7-6(5), 6-3 victory over the in-form World No. 14 Dominic Thiem. The 22-year-old Austrian has already won two titles this year. This is the 2009 US Open champion’s biggest win during his comeback from wrist surgery.
The Argentine was understandably emotional as he said: “I have just played my best match since I came back to tennis after my surgeries.”
WTA – Terrific display from Halep
On the women’s side, former runner-up and sixth seed Simona Halep rebounded from dropping her opening service game to storm through the next few games and post a 6-1, 6-1 win over Italy’s Karin Knapp. She will next meet last year’s French Open semi-finalist Timea Bacsinsszky, who has come to Madrid fresh from capturing the title at Rabat.
The 10th seed continues her great run as she edged past Ekaterina Makarova, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.
Former Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova, who stunned top seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the first round, once again brought her impressive fighting skills to the fore to beat Caroline Garcia, 0-6, 6-3, 6-4. The Slovak was staring at defeat at 0-6, 0-3 down from where she clawed her way back into the match and secured the win.
Porsche Grand Prix finalist Laura Siegemund keeps soaring higher and higher. The German entered the Round of 16 with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over qualifier Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. Home hope and eight seed Carla Suarez Navarro also progressed courtesy of a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Germany’s Sabine Lisicki.
11th seeded Lucie Safarova, however, could not take the court due to a gastro-intestinal illness. The walkover put former French Open runner-up Samantha Stosur into the third round.
What is the foot injury that has troubled Rafael Nadal over the years? Check here
