Djokovic falls

Nadal stays alive in Madrid Open

MADRID — Novak Djokovic added another early elimination to his disappointing season, while Rafael Nadal continued to look invincible on clay.

Djokovic lost to Kyle Edmund 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 on Wednesday in the second round of the Madrid Open, the sixth straight tournament in which he has failed to reach the quarterfinals.

Nadal later cruised past Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-1, extending his record of consecutive sets won on clay to 48. The 16-time Grand Slam champion, coming off titles in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, has won 37 of his last 38 matches on the surface, including 20 straight.

Djokovic has struggled this year after saying he returned to action too quickly following a lingering right elbow injury.

"There are obvious things that are not working well for me," the 12time Grand Slam champion said. "But I have to keep working on them and pray that ... and hope that my game will get stronger."

Djokovic lost in the third round in Monte Carlo and in the second round in both Miami and Indian Wells. The 12thranked Serb also failed to advance past the last 16 at the Australian Open.

"One or two points decide really these kind of matches," Djokovic said. "Luck was on his side a little bit. But, also, he was courageous enough to attack the balls when it mattered and deserved to win."

Djokovic played poorly in the first set but recovered to comfortably win the second. He had a chance to go up a break early in the third set but lost five straight points to allow Edmund to come back from 0-40. The unseeded British player then broke Djokovic's serve to go up 5-3 and easily closed out the match on his serve.

"I just felt good today, felt I was hitting the ball well," Edmund said. "I just knew that if I put myself in the match hopefully in the closing stages I would give myself a chance. That game in the third set was very key. When Novak gets a lead it's very hard to break him down because he becomes a bit more aggressive."

Edmund will next play eighth-seeded David Goffin, who defeated Robin Haase 7-5, 6-3.

AP Photo/Francisco Seco BACKHAND RETURN. Rafael Nadal from Spain hits a backhand return to Gael Monfils from France during a Madrid Open tennis tournament match in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 9, 2018. Nadal won 6-3, 6-1.

AP Photo/Paul White HEARTBREAK. Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts on his way to losing his match against Kyle Edmund of Britain during the Madrid Open Tennis tournament in Madrid, Spain, Wednesday, May 9, 2018.