Nadal cruises into last-16; Barty and Badosa in semis
Madrid, Spain - Rafael Nadal began his bid for a sixth Madrid Open title in simple fashion on Wednesday, easing past youngster Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 6-2 to reach the last-16.
Nadal, who returned to world No 2 in the world last week after his thrilling win over Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona final, strolled past his 18 year old rival in the Spanish capital.
Ranked 120 in the world, Alcaraz battled bravely and even broke his compatriot Nadal's serve in the second set but was predictably overwhelmed by one of the game's greats in a match that lasted one hour and 17 minutes. Nadal will take on either rising star Jannik Sinner or Alexei Popyrin in the next round.
Clay king Nadal will already have his eyes on a record-extending 14th French Open triumph, where victory this year would also edge him ahead of Roger Federer's 20 major titles and to the top of the all-time men's list.
Earlier second seed Daniil Medvedev, returning to the circuit after testing positive for COVID-19 in mid-April, picked up his first win on clay for two years when he came back from a set down to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6, 6-4, 6-2. He will now take on Christian Garin in last-16.
Fifth seed Alexander Zverev swept past Kei Nishikori in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
World No 9 Diego Schwartzman was dumped out by Aslan Karatsev 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Russian Karatsev will take on Alexander Bublik in the next round.
Earlier on Tuesday night, Dominic Thiem claimed a straightforward win in his first match since March. World No 4 Thiem eased to a 6-1, 6-3 thrashing of American Marcos Giron in his first match for almost two months. Thiem will next face Australia's Alex de Minaur.
Kvitova exits
In the women's draw Ashleigh Barty will take on Paula Badosa in the semifinals after beating Petra Kvitova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday.
World No 1 Barty is chasing her fourth singles title of the year after her triumph in Stuttgart ten days ago.
In the last four she faces the woman who knocked her out in the quarterfinals in Charleston in early April.
Wild card Badosa became the first Spanish woman in the tournament's 12-year history to make the semis with her 6-4, 7-5 win over eighth seed Belinda Bencic.
Badosa kissed the clay court in celebration of a win that will shoot the world No 62 up the WTA rankings.
Earlier on Tuesday, world No 3 Simona Halep was dumped out, losing 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the last-16 to Belgian Elise Mertens.
In the quarterfinals, 13th seed Mertens will meet her doubles partner, Belarusian seventh seed Aryna Sabalenka, who dispatched American Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-2 in just 52 minutes.