Nadal, a five-time winner playing in his home tournament for the last time, told Sky Sports: “I found a way to win. In the third match, I was able to be more unexpected, which I believe influenced the outcome.I’m enjoying the fact that I’m playing at home because it means everything to me, and I’m doing my best to keep dreaming because tomorrow is a new day.”
Play was momentarily halted in the first set when a spectator required medical attention, prompting Cachin to dash to the players’ fridge and throw bottles of water into the stand.
When they resumed, Nadal quickly gained a third break of serve to round off the set.
However, Cachin began swinging at the start of the second.
Rafael Nadal advanced to the fourth round of the Madrid Open with a hard-fought victory over Argentina’s Pedro Cachin.
The 37-year-old is still playing alone himself as he prepares for the French Open next month.
He sailed through the first set, but dropped a gritty second in a tie-break before winning 6-1 6-7 (5) 6-3 in just over three hours.
However, Cachin came out swinging in the second set, breaking Nadal’s serve twice to lead 4-1 and hush the sold-out Spanish crowd.
The 22-time Grand Slam champion increased his energy and recovered one break before saving two set points in a long 10th game to tie the match at 5-5.
Cachin appeared to be on the point of forcing a decider with another break, but he wilted once again, and Nadal responded, his old warrior spirit shining through as he celebrated bringing the set to a tie-break with four fist pumps.
An audible sigh erupted from the audience when Cachin brought up a set-point on Nadal’s serve and passed the veteran to tie the match.
However, Nadal took a break at the start of the third set and had to dig deep to avoid the threat of Cachin, who attempted to impose himself in the decider.
Finally, Nadal’s brilliance shined through as he won to go to the fourth round, where he will face 22-year-old Czech Jiri Lehecka.
Daniil Medvedev, the world number four, dropped the opening set to American Sebastian Korda but recovered to win 5-7 7-6 (4) 6-3.
In the final 16, he will face Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, who defeated rising star American Ben Shelton in three sets.
Cameron Norrie lost in straight sets to Norway’s Casper Ruud, 2-6 4-6.
Norrie struggled to establish a foothold in the match, falling behind in the first set by a significant margin before demonstrating his tenacity in the second.
The South African-born player leveled the second set at 4-4 with some crisp finishes in an attempt to win his own set.
Ruud, on the other hand, demonstrated his ability late in the game, punished Norrie’s errors before sealing the victory.Iga Swiatek, the world number one, seems in imperious form as she prepares to defend her Roland Garros championship.In just over an hour, the 22-year-old from Poland defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo of Spain 6-1, 6-0.Swiatek, who won 12 consecutive games and dropped only five points in the second set, will play Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia in the quarterfinals.Coco Gauff, who was aiming to achieve world number two, lost to fellow American Madison Keys 6-7 (4) 6-4 4-6.
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