Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal, the former world number one, was eliminated in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid on Tuesday after losing to Czech Jiri Lehecky in a match decided in just two sets.
Lehecka, ranked 31st in the world, beat Nadal, winner of 22 career Grand Slams, 7-5 to 6-4 in a match played on clay that lasted two hours and three minutes.
At 37, Nadal failed to reach the quarter-finals of a tournament he has already won five times, and Lehecka has moved on and now faces Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, who beat Kazakh Alexander Bublik.
Nadal, who had won three matches in a row in Madrid, something that had not happened for about 18 months, was out of action for almost a year with injury and returned in January to Brisbane, Australia.
He then stopped performing again due to physical problems and returned to performing in April in Barcelona.
The Masters 1000 in Madrid gives Nadal the chance to prepare for a bigger event, France’s Roland Garros, which he has already won 14 times and runs from May 20 to June 9.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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