Rafael Nadal battled to victory over three hours on the court against Pedro Cachin at the Madrid Open on Monday to seal a 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win to reach the last 16.

The former world number one looked back to his best as he cruised through the opening set but was pushed hard in the second by Cachin.

Nadal came from behind to level at 5-5, but Cachin eventually sealed the set on his third set point.

The Spaniard then rallied in the third set, cutting down on his errors to regain control and advance to the fourth round at a tour-level event for the first time since 2022.

Nadal is one step away from booking his place in a 10th consecutive quarter-final in Madrid and will face Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday in the next round after the 30th seed overcame Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro in two sets.

Daniil Medvedev overcame a stern test against Sebastian Korda at the Madrid Open on Monday, fighting back from the brink of defeat to seal a 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win and reach the last 16.

The world number four was staring at an early elimination when Korda took the opening set and put himself within two points of victory on two occasions, at both 5-4 and 6-5 up in the second.

However, Medvedev twice held firm on his own serve to force a tie-break, and the pair exchanged mini breaks before the 2021 US Open champion seized control to take it 7-4.

Medvedev's performance was error-strewn in parts, but he found more consistency in the third set, claiming the all-important break eight games in after repeatedly testing Korda's forehand. 

Medvedev will now face Alexander Bublik for a place in the quarter-finals on Tuesday after the 17th seed overcame Ben Shelton in three sets.

Data Debrief: Medvedev overcomes awkward opponent 

Medvedev has not always had things all his own way against Korda, who eliminated him from the Australian Open and the Shanghai Masters in 2023.

Prior to Monday's match, he was 23-2 versus American players since the start of 2021, with both losses coming against Korda. However, having also beaten Korda en route to the Indian Wells Open final last month, he seems to have put that hoodoo behind him.

Iga Swiatek continued her march towards back-to-back Madrid Open finals by crushing home favourite Sara Sorribes Tormo in straight sets in the last 16 on Monday.

The world number one – who lost to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's final – made a poor start as Sorribes Tormo surprisingly broke her serve in the opening game, but that only spurred her into action as she dominated from there.

Swiatek broke back immediately and reeled off 12 straight games to advance 6-1 6-0, going one better than her 6-1 6-1 win over Sorana Cirstea in the last 32.

On clay, Swiatek has now won nine of her 55 WTA 1000-level sets by 6-0, with that remarkable rate of 16.4 per cent being the highest of any player to have played 10 or more sets in the format's history (completed matches only).

Swiatek will face Beatriz Haddad Maia in the last eight on Tuesday, with the Brazilian upsetting Maria Sakkari 6-4 6-4 to reach her first quarter-final at the event.

Data Debrief: Swiatek unstoppable on clay?

Swiatek's meeting with Haddad Maia will represent her 14th quarter-final in 18 WTA events played on clay, meaning she has reached that stage on 77.8 per cent of her appearances on the surface.

Since the turn of the century, only two players have a higher rate of quarter-finals reached on clay – Martina Hingis (85.7 per cent, 12/14) and Justine Henin (80.6 per cent, 25/31).

Ons Jabeur cruised into the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Monday, spending just over an hour on court in a statement 6-0 6-4 win over ninth seed Jelena Ostapenko. 

Jabeur, who won her first and so far only WTA 1000 title in Madrid in 2022 then missed last year's tournament through injury, made it nine wins in a row in the Spanish capital to book a last-eight meeting with either Coco Gauff or Madison Keys.

Eighth seed Jabeur only needed 68 minutes to see off the former French Open champion, not dropping a game in a 21-minute opener in which she won 88 per cent of first-serve points.

Ostapenko improved in the second set, breaking back immediately after losing serve in the opening game, but Jabeur got the crucial break to go 5-4 up before serving the contest out.

Data Debrief: Jabeur dominates on the clay

Jabeur's win sealed her third quarter-final appearance at a WTA 1000-level event on clay since 2020. Only world number one Iga Swiatek (four) has reached more during that span.

A dominant start did the trick for the Tunisian on Monday, as she became the first player to take an opening set 6-0 against a top-10 ranked player in Madrid since the 2021 final, when Aryna Sabalenka did so in her victory over Ashleigh Barty.

Carlos Alcaraz boosted his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open title as he comfortably beat Thiago Seyboth Wild to reach the fourth round on Sunday.

Back in his home country of Spain, Alcaraz eased to a 6-3 6-3 triumph to set up a fourth-round clash with Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he beat in last year's final.

The first six games of the opening set went to serve, but Alcaraz found a crucial break in the seventh and ninth games of the set to put him in pole position for victory, a lead he would not relinquish as he overcame being broken in the seventh game of the second set to seal his safe progression.

Holger Rune was a surprise casualty as the world number 12 was defeated 6-4 4-6 6-3 by Tallon Griekspoor, though world number eight Andrey Rublev eased through with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Data Debrief

With his triumph over Seyboth Wild at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz has now won 93.3 per cent of his games at the tournament. That is the highest win percentage of any player with at least 10 games played in a single ATP-1000 event since the format was introduced in 1990.

Against Seyboth Wild, Alcaraz won 27 of his 31 first-serve points, also recording 19 winners to his opponent's 10 as he dominated the contest on his way to victory.

Aryna Sabalenka was forced to go the distance again at the Madrid Open as she battled past Robin Montgomery on Sunday.

Sabalenka, the reigning Madrid Open champion, needed three sets to win her second-round tie against Magda Linette on Friday, and the second seed did not have an easy ride against American Montgomery.

However, she eventually got over the line, triumphing 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 to tee up a last-16 meeting with Danielle Collins, who defeated Jaqueline Cristian 3-6 6-4 6-1.

Collins has now reeled off 15 straight wins, having won the Miami Open and Charleston Open in recent weeks, and has progressed to the last 16 in Madrid for the first time in her career.

The American said: "I've been doing so well the last couple of weeks, I think the girls know that when they come out and play me, they've got to go for it. 

"That certainly was taking place the last two matches, some big shots that I've had to counter, and be able to react quickly."

Data Debrief: Sabalenka up there with Serena

Sabalenka has now won 14 of her 17 matches at the Madrid Open, which she won in 2023 and 2021.

Since the inception of the tournament, only Serena Williams (15) has won more of her first 17 matches at the event.

Carlos Alcaraz boosted his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open title as he comfortably beat Thiago Seyboth Wild to reach the fourth round on Sunday.

Back in his home country of Spain, Alcaraz eased to a 6-3 6-3 triumph to set up a fourth-round clash with Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he beat in last year's final.

The first six games of the opening set went to serve, but Alcaraz found a crucial break in the seventh and ninth games of the set to put him in pole position for victory, a lead he would not relinquish as he overcame being broken in the seventh game of the second set to seal his safe progression.

Holger Rune was a surprise casualty as the world number 12 was defeated 6-4 4-6 6-3 by Tallon Griekspoor, though world number eight Andrey Rublev eased through with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Data debrief

With his triumph over Seyboth Wild at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz has now won 93.3 per cent of his games at the tournament. That is the highest win percentage of any player with at least 10 games played in a single ATP-1000 event since the format was introduced in 1990.

Against Seyboth Wild, Alcaraz won 27 of his 31 first-serve points, also recording 19 winners to his opponent's 10 as he dominated the contest on his way to victory.

Elena Rybakina cruised past Mayar Sherif in straight sets to reach the last 16 of the Madrid Open on Sunday.

World number four Rybakina rarely looked like being troubled by Sherif, easing to a 6-1 6-4 triumph, winning 22 of her 26 first-serve points on her way to victory.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion broke Sherif's serve twice in the first set to gain control of the match, before holding her serve five times in the second to ensure victory.

Also into the last 16 in Madrid are Yulia Putintseva and Daria Kasatkina, who beat Caroline Dolehide and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova respectively, both in straight sets. However, world number seven and reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova is out after she was upset by Mirra Andreeva, losing 7-5 6-1.

Data debrief

In reaching the Madrid Open last 16, Rybakina again showed her class on clay. Her victory over Sherif saw her become only the fourth player in the last 10 years to win 14 straight WTA matches on clay, alongside Serena Williams, Simona Halep and Iga Swiatek.

Additionally, Rybakina's 475 winners at WTA-1000 events in 2024 are 112 more than the next best, Danielle Collins with 363.

Rafael Nadal delighted his home fans at the Madrid Open as he roared to an impressive victory over Alex de Minaur on Saturday.

The Spaniard battled to a 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 victory to earn his first win over a top-20 player in the world rankings since the ATP Finals back in 2022.

De Minaur had beaten Nadal last week in Barcelona, but the five-time Madrid champion was not to be denied this time in front of a crowd which included King Felipe VI along with football stars Zinedine Zidane and Vinicius Jr.

Emerging triumphant from an epic 77-minute opening set proved decisive, with Nadal more comfortable in the second as De Minaur missed an opportunity to become the first player to beat him in consecutive weeks since Novak Djokovic achieved the feat way back in 2011.

Nadal will take on Pedro Cachin in the third round after the Argentine dumped out Fances Tiafoe in three sets.

"I'm super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex and play over two hours," Nadal said, per the ATP Tour website.

"It means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke, so I can't thank enough everybody here.

"It still needs time [until I am back to my best]. I think for moments it has been a good level of tennis. I was able to do positive things, but still on and off.

"But I really believe that tennis hasn't been an issue for the last two years. More the physical issues. 

"If I am able to play weeks in a row and if I am able to play tennis, then I'm going to see how far I can go and how competitive I could be. But that's not the case yet, just step by step and let's see how I recover."

Elsewhere at the tournament, Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner, playing as the top seed at a Masters 1000 event for the first time, cruised to victory over fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego to start his campaign in style.

It took Sinner just 69 minutes to win 6-0 6-3 and improve to 26-2 in a remarkable 2024 season so far.

“I know Lorenzo quite well and we have a good friendship off the court, we play Davis Cup together, we practise a lot together,” Sinner said. 

“The mental side was a little bit different than it used to be, so I'm just happy how I handled the situation. He didn't play at his best. I think we saw this. I wish him all the best for the rest of the season.”

Progress was harder to come by for Daniil Medvedev as he lost the opening set to Matteo Arnaldi, though the third seed eventually battled through 2-6 6-4 6-4 to book a third-round clash with American Sebastian Korda.

There was a surprise result, though, with Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro ending the fine recent form of Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 6-4 6-4 victory.

Tsitsipas was 10-1 on clay this year going into the match, but the sixth seed crashed to a shock defeat just a week after Monteiro had lost in the first round of a Challenger Tour event in Portugal, marking a rapid reversal of his fortunes.

“Every week you have a new opportunity," said Monteiro. “These past few weeks I wasn’t feeling really good on the court. I was trying to do well at Challengers but it didn’t work. 

“I just kept up the hard work, day by day. Even when I was not feeling good and not winning matches, I kept believing in myself, and this week it has paid off.

"For sure one of the biggest wins of my career. I knew it was a really tough match and I tried to just believe in myself all the time."

Sunday’s matches will see Nadal’s compatriot Carlos Alcaraz continue his campaign with a third-round clash against Thiago Seyboth Wild.

Iga Swiatek stormed through to the Madrid Open last 16 following a dominant straight-sets victory over Sorana Cirstea.

The world number one dropped just two games as she inflicted a comprehensive 6-1 6-1 rout on her Romanian opponent in the Spanish capital.

Swiatek, who was runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka in last year's event, will play Sara Sorribes Tormo in the round of 16 after the Spaniard defeated two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka.

The Pole is now 26-4 for the season, in which she has already triumphed at the Qatar Open and Indian Wells Open, as she eyes the ninth WTA 1000 singles title of her career.

Data debrief

Swiatek is through to her sixth round of 16 from seven main-draw appearances in WTA 1000 events on clay (85.7 per cent) - the highest percentage rate among players with at least five such appearances since the format's introduction in 2009.

The three-time French Open champion also boasts the best WTA match win rate of any player since 2000 on clay (87 per cent). Overall, only Chris Evert (94.5 per cent), Margaret Court (89.5 per cent) and Steffi Graf (89.2 per cent) boast a higher percentage in the Open Era.

Carlos Alcaraz continued his fine record at the Madrid Open with an emphatic 6-2 6-1 victory over Alexander Shevchenko on Friday.

The two-time defending champion made it 12 straight wins at his home tournament to ensure he will face Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the last 32.

Alcaraz was playing his first match on the ATP Tour since March 28 after being unable to compete in the Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open due to an arm injury.

But he was still able to make a fine start to his clay-court season, breaking serve in the first game and racing to victory in only one hour and eight minutes.

Data Debrief

Sometimes the scoreline can be harsh on a beaten player, but on this occasion Alcaraz was clearly dominant, breaking the Kazakh seven times in the match and forcing 11 break-point opportunities while conceding only three for his opponent.

That allowed the Spaniard to claim a dominant victory despite being broken once in each set. He will now turn his attention to a clash with Seyboth Wild, who battled past Lorenzo Musetti with a 6-4 6-4 win.

Aryna Sabalenka got her Madrid Open campaign started with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 win over Magda Linette on Friday.

Sabalenka could not quite hit her peak form against Linette, but the world number two nevertheless got the job done after going the distance.

The Belarusian is hunting a record-equalling third title in Madrid, where she is the reigning champion, though she has not won back-to-back matches at a tournament since winning the Australian Open.

"It's not about being confident," Sabalenka said. "It's about how much you're ready to do to get it. It's about the hard work and to be ready, be ready for the big fights. I feel like confidence is not going to help you in those big matches. It's about staying there and fighting for it."

Data Debrief

Sabalenka (70 per cent, 56-24) is now one of five active players since 2020 to hold a winning percentage of 70 per cent or higher at WTA-1000 events.

Iga Swiatek, Simona Halep, Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula are the other players to feature on that list.

In-form Elena Rybakina has moved into the last 32 of the Madrid Open after a straight sets victory over Italian Lucia Bronzetti.

Number four seed Rybakina triumphed 6-4 6-3 on Friday and will next face either Marta Kostyuk or Mayar Sherif.

Rybakina was broken early in each set but ultimately had few problems getting over the line, converting four of her five break points to continue an impressive run of results after winning the Stuttgart Open last week.

She has now won five consecutive WTA matches and has 13 straight wins on clay courts to her name in a superb streak that started one year ago.

Data Debrief: Rybakina in elite company

Since the start of 2020, only two other players have claimed as many 13 consecutive WTA wins on clay, and they are Iga Swiatek and Simona Halep, so Rybakina is in elite company.

Rybakina's last defeat on this surface came in the 2023 edition of the Madrid Open, when she fell to Anna Kalinskaya in her first match, so this win represented a better start to her campaign in the Spanish capital.

World number one Iga Swiatek overcame Wang Xiyu with the minimum of fuss on Thursday to progress to the third round of the Madrid Open.

Swiatek has yet to win the title in Madrid, which is the only clay-court European event at which the Pole has not triumphed, but she got off to a flying start with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Xiyu.

"I love this place. I got to know the city a little better last year," Swiatek said. "So this time I feel more comfortable around."

Next up for the 22-year-old is a third-round tie against 27th seed Sorana Cirstea on Saturday.

Data Debrief

Swiatek has registered 150 match wins on the WTA Tour since the start of 2022. Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff are the next best with 108 wins each.

She also became the first player born this century to claim 50 combined match wins in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, since the inaugural women's singles event at the Madrid Open in 2009.

Coco Gauff made a flying start to her Madrid Open campaign on Thursday, recording the first double bagel main-draw win of her career as she cruised past Arantxa Rus to reach the round of 32.

Gauff needed just 51 minutes to see off 33-year-old Rus as she booked a meeting with Ukraine's Dayana Yamstremska for Saturday. 

The US Open champion lost just 18 points throughout the match – eight in the opener and 10 in the second set – as she put any doubts over her recent form to bed in emphatic fashion.

Gauff's power proved too much for Rus in the opener, the third seed winning 88 per cent of points behind her first serve and converting three of four break points to go a set up in just 23 minutes.

Rus brought up four break points midway through the second set, but when she failed to convert them, Gauff punished her in ruthless fashion by reeling off another three games then finishing things with a terrific forehand winner. 

Speaking after her win, the American said: "I played really well today. It was just one of those days for me… 6-0 6-0, I've never done that before, I'll probably never do it again."

Data Debrief: Gauff matches Azarenka, Halep feat

Gauff is just the third player to register a 6-0 6-0 win in the women's singles draw at the Madrid Open, following in the footsteps of two former world number ones in Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep.

The American, who only turned 20 last month, is also the youngest player to double bagel an opponent in any main-draw match on the WTA Tour since Iga Swiatek did so against Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Italian Open final in Rome.