Nadal shines in Madrid win but says he needs time to find full power

Rafael Nadal (pic) avenged his defeat to Alex de Minaur from Barcelona with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 victory over the Australian on Saturday to extend his stay in Madrid on his final appearance at his home tournament but admitted he still “needs time” to return to his competitive peak.

Nadal’s farewell tour has pitted him against De Minaur twice in as many weeks but this time the result was reversed as the 22-time Grand Slam champion advanced to a third-round meeting with Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.

In front of a capacity crowd that included the King of Spain, Felipe VI, French football icon Zinedine Zidane, and Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, Nadal dug deep to dismiss the world number 11, despite admitting ahead of the tournament he was still struggling with numerous physical issues.

It was an impressive performance from the 37-year-old but he immediately dismissed the idea it was anywhere near his vintage form.

“No, not yet. It needs time,” said Nadal on court. “To play over two hours means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke.

“Just step by step and let’s see how I recover.”

Five-time Madrid champion Nadal said he will not make a decision on playing at the French Open until after Rome which starts next week, and explained the key factor that would determine his participation.

“It’s not a thing about losing or winning. It’s about going on court there with the feeling that I can fight and I can be competitive,” said the record 14-time French Open champion.

“So if I am not able to go on court and dream, for me it doesn’t make sense to go. I prefer to stay with all the amazing memories that I have.”

Third seed Daniil Medvedev recovered from a set down to squeeze past tricky Italian Matteo Arnaldi 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 and set up a third round against American Sebastian Korda.

Ons Jabeur, the 2022 women champion, wiped a 0-3 deficit in the first set, and 0-2 and 2-4 deficits in the decider to overcome Canada’s Leylah Fernandez 7-5, 2-6, 6-4 and move into the last 16.

US Open champion Coco Gauff almost blew a 5-0 lead in the first set of her third round match before completing a 6-4, 6-1 win against Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska.