Rafael Nadal will be bidding to book his spot in the fourth round of the Madrid Open when he tackles world number 91 Pedro Cachin in the third round of the competition on Monday.
The Spaniard navigated his way past Alex de Minaur in the second round, while Cachin booked his spot at this stage courtesy of a three-set success over Frances Tiafoe.
Match preview
© Reuters
Nadal made light work of teenager Darwin Blanch in the first round of the Madrid Open, securing a 6-1 6-0 victory to advance to the second round, where De Minaur was waiting.
The 37-year-old showed signs of his best in the two-set success over De Minaur, winning the first set on a tie-break before recording a 6-3 win in the second to advance to the third round of the competition.
Nadal secured his first top-20 victory since 2022 in the second round, and he said after the match that he showed "a good level of tennis".
"No, not yet. Next time! Today, I showed a good level of tennis and I was able to do positive things," the Spaniard told reporters. "I'm super happy to be able to be competitive against a great player like Alex, playing over two hours, it means a lot to me and the atmosphere here is just a joke.
"If I am able to play weeks in a row, then I'm going to see how far I can go and how competitive I could be. That's not the case yet, step by step and let's see how I recover."
Nadal is now preparing to tackle Cachin for the first time in his career, and a victory would see him set up a fourth-round encounter with either Jiri Lehecka or Thiago Monteiro.
Cachin, who is currently ranked at 91 in the world, overcame Sebastian Ofner in the first round of this year's Madrid Open, recording a 6-3 6-3 victory to progress in the competition.
Tiafoe was waiting in the second round, and Cachin won the opener on a tie-break before losing the second 6-3, but he recovered from the setback to record a 6-4 victory in the third.
The 29-year-old has never been past the third round of a Grand Slam, with his previous-best proving to be the third round of the US Open in 2022, while he has never been past round one at Wimbledon.
The Argentine would have seriously feared taking on Nadal at the peak of his powers, but the Spaniard is now ranked at number 644 in the world and has not won a Grand Slam since 2022.
Cachin reached the fourth round of the Madrid Open in 2023, and he has served 11 aces at the tournament this year, which should mean that he enters the clash full of confidence.
Nadal rolled back the years with his performance in the second round, though, and it is shaping up to be an intriguing battle on Monday in the Spanish capital.
Tournament so far
Rafael Nadal:
First round: vs. Darwin Blanch 6-1 6-0
Second round: vs. Alex de Minaur 7[8]-6[6] 6-3
Pedro Cachin:
First round: vs. Sebastian Ofner 6-3 6-3
Second round: vs. Frances Tiafoe 7-6[1] 3-6 6-4
Head To Head
Monday's meeting will be the first-ever encounter between the two players.
We say: Nadal to win in two sets
Much will depend on Nadal's fitness and how the Spaniard has recovered from his clash in the second round. Cachin is capable of making this an uncomfortable match for Nadal, but we are expecting the former world number one to navigate his way into the fourth round of the competition.
