Rafael Nadal Fails to Hold On to 21-Year Long Madrid Open Streak Despite Winning 3rd Round Clash

Every enthusiast and pundit must’ve believed that Pedro Cachin lost his morale after losing 1-6 to Rafael Nadal in the first set of their third-round encounter at the Madrid Open 2024. However, Cachin displayed a lot of courage in the second set. Putting his determination to show, the Argentine managed to snap Nadal’s impressive feat despite eventually losing the contest.

Since participating in the Madrid Open 2003, the King of Clay was forced to a tie-break merely nine times. Over a 21-year career, Nadal never lost a single tie-break in Madrid on clay… until Monday night.

Pedro Cachin achieved what no man has ever accomplished at the Madrid Open – defeating Rafa in the tie-break on his favorite surface that too on home soil. The World No.91 managed to capitalize on the early break in the tie-break and eventually won 7-5.

As impressive as this feat is, Nadal had a great bounce back in the third set. After the two players were unable to hold their serves, the Spaniard finally got the two-game advantage and went to finish the set 6-3.

Speaking about the shaky start to the deciding set, Nadal said:

“Some moments were good. Some moments not good. I found a way to be through. In the 3rd set even with some mistakes I was able to be a bit more unpredictable. That changed the match.”

Rafa Nadal after beating Pedro Cachin in Madrid

“Some moments were good. Some moments not good. I found a way to be through. In the 3rd set even with some mistakes I was able to be a bit more unpredictable. That changed the match.” pic.twitter.com/ezjw6CBONd

— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 29, 2024

Winning the 184-minute contest marks Rafa’s first 3-match win streak since 2022. If the Spaniard manages to beat Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round, it would be his 17^th quarterfinal appearance at the Madrid Open.

Rafael Nadal Is Set to Play Jiri Lehecka in the Round of 16

After having defeated Darwin Blanch, Alex de Minaur, and Pedro Cachin, Rafael Nadal is set to face Jiri Lehecka in his Round of 16 matchup.

Being out of the tour for the past two years, Nadal hasn’t faced the Czech international ever before. However, it is worth noting that the 22-year-old is at his best on clay. Lehecka has his best winning record (64.46%) on the red dirt.

Despite the lethal force that Lehecka has been in his first two matches of the ATP Masters 1000 event, the five-time Madrid Open winner will be expected to enter the quarterfinals.