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Rafael Nadal made a winning return from injury, taking out Miomir Kecmanovic in straight sets to advance to the third round of the Madrid Open on Wednesday.
Nadal looked relatively untroubled in his first match since sustaining a rib stress fracture at Indian Wells in March, improving to 2-0 against the talented Serb.
The World No. 4 will face either David Goffin or Botic van de Zandschulp in the next round.
Rafael Nadal vs Miomir Kecmanovic Score
Rafael Nadal defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 7-6(4).
Rafael Nadal vs Miomir Kecmanovic Winner
With his second win over the Serb, the five-time Madrid champion remained on track for a record-tying 37th ATP Masters 1000 title.
The World No. 4 also brought Kecmanovic's run of successive quarterfinal appearances this season to an end.
The win was Nadal's 21st of the season. His only defeat came against Taylor Fritz in the Indian Wells final.
Rafael Nadal vs Miomir Kecmanovic Recap
Nadal raced out of the blocks, breaking twice to take the first set 6-1. But the Spaniard was in for a much tighter battle in the second, having to fend off a break point in his opening service game as play resumed following a rain delay.
Kecmanovic held at love, but got broken in his subsequent service game. The Serb double faulted to give Nadal a break point and the Spaniard converted with a forehand down-the-line winner for a 3-2 lead.
Kecmanovic sensed an opportunity of his own as Nadal coughed up three errors to gift the Serb break points. Nadal saved one with a serve and volley, but netted a routine forehand following a long baseline exchange to allow Kecmanovic to pull even at 3-3.
Nadal broke once again in the 11th game to earn the opportunity to serve for the match. But Kecmanovic quickly broke back as the Spaniard gifted away points with untimely unforced errors.
Nadal and Kecmanovic traded mini-breaks early in the tie-break, but the Serb handed the Spaniard control with an error at 4-4. Nadal then pulled clear, sealing the win with an ace that the Serb refused to challenge.
Nadal fired 29 winners, 18 from his forehand wing, against Kecmanovic's 15 in the match.
Also Check Out :-Madrid Open 2022 Results
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