Rafael Nadal wins in Madrid, defeats Pedro Cachin to reach fourth round

Rafael Nadal’s farewell tour is picking up steam at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open: the 22-time Grand Slam champion survived an epic with Pedro Cachin, 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 to reach his first Masters 1000 fourth round in two years.

Nadal, who is likely hanging up his racquets after Laver Cup in September, backed up a big win over Alex de Minaur and has now racked up three consecutive wins, his longest win streak since the 2022 US Open, with a three-hour, two-minute win over Cachin in three tough sets on Manolo Santana Stadium.

“Some moments good, some moments not good,” Nadal said on court to summarize his tennis after the match. “I fought good and found a way to be through. In the third set, even with some mistakes, I was able to be a little bit more unpredictable and that probably changed the match.”

The 37-year-old lit up the Caja Magica over the weekend when he avenged his Barcelona defeat to De Minaur, defeating the Aussie in straight sets to score his first Top 20 win in nearly 18 months.

“It was a great test, and now let's see how I wake up tomorrow,” Nadal warned after spending two hours on court against De Minaur on Saturday.

The five-time Madrid champion certainly looked like he’d had a couple good nights of sleep when he began his first career meeting with Cachin, an unseeded Argentine ranked No. 91, down from a career-high of No. 48 last summer. Cachin upset Frances Tiafoe in three sets in the second round to book the meeting with Nadal.

Nadal swiftly raced out to a 5-1 lead, and was only slowed by the combination of a valiant effort by Cachin and a distressed spectator who appeared in danger of a medical emergency. Once play resumed, Nadal nonetheless scored a third break to take the opening set and start the second on his terms.

Cachin came alive from there, taking a double-break lead of his own as Nadal’s game suddenly lacked the punch it had in 46-minute first set. Nadal clawed one of the breaks back but couldn’t level in spite of a 0-30 lead in the eighth game and Cachin was soon serving for the set.

As nerves set in for Cachin, Nadal took full advantage and saved two set points through a four-deuce marathon, converting his third break chance of the game to even the set at five games apiece.

Nerves continued to affect both men as the set approached a conclusion, trading two more breaks to force a tiebreaker.

Though Cachin twice failed to serve out the second set, the 29-year-old managed a bright start to the Sudden Death, opening with a mini-break and winning the first three points. Hitting through Nadal’s famous defense, he struck a backhand into the open court for a second mini-break with the change of ends on the horizon.

Nadal pulled off yet another comeback from there, wrongfooting Cachin with a powerful overhead to tie the breaker back up. In a repeat of the last few games, the pair traded more mini-breaks before Cachin served his way to a third set point. This time, Cachin made no mistakes, nailing a passing shot to take the match into a decider.

Undaunted, Nadal began the third set with a break of his own and threatened a double break before Cachin was able to save two break points and tie the match at two games all. Nadal recovered in time to take yet another lead, putting down a love hold to move within two games of victory, and only improved as the match hit the three hour mark.

Opening the ninth game with a searing forehand cross court, he moved 0-30 with a forehand return winner and outfoxed Cachin at net to earn his first match point. With the finish line in sight, Nadal made no mistakes as the last Cachin forehand floated long. In all, he played a clean match with 36 winners to 32 unforced errors.

Nadal obliged Cachin's request for a souvenir—one of his shirts—after the match.

Waiting for Nadal in the Round of 16 is No. 30 seed Jiri Lehecka; the 22-year-old edged past Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro, who shocked No. 6 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, in straight sets.