Rafael Nadal wins 3 matches in a row for the first time since 2022, grinds his way past Pedro Cachin to reach Madrid Open 4R

Rafael Nadal stormed into the fourth round of the 2024 Madrid Open, beating Pedro Cachin in three sets on Monday.

Nadal came into the clash with solid wins over Darwin Blanch and 10th seed Alex de Minaur. Cachin, meanwhile, came in with wins over Sebastian Ofner and Frances Tiafoe.

In their first clash on the ATP Tour, the 22-time Grand Slam champion started off as the aggressor, racing to an early 2-0 lead. Although Cachin held serve, Nadal went on to break him two more times to wrap the set 6-1 with relative ease. The Mallorcan pulled off 13 winners in the set, making only six unforced errors.

In the second set, though, Cachin earned the first break of serve to go 2-0 up. The Argentine opened up a 4-1 lead, breaking the left-hander once more. Nadal responded by getting one break back, closing in on his opponent and keeping the pressure on him.

At 5-4, with Cachin serving for the set, the 37-year-old earned his second break to restore parity, converting his third break point of the game. Nadal, though, lost serve, allowing Cachin the chance to serve for the set once again. The Argentine, though, faltered for the second time, dropping his serve to love.

In the ensuing tiebreaker, Nadal started on the back foot, going down a mini-break as he trailed 4-1. He quickly bounced back, winning both points on Cachin's serve to make it 4-4.

Once again, though, the tide turned, as the World No. 91 went 5-4 up, winning the point on his opponent's second serve point. With two serves to come to level the match, Cachin was consumed by nerves yet again, leading 6-5, before clinching the set on Nadal's serve.

In the decider, the 22-time Grand Slam champion earned two early breaks, conceding one to go 4-2 up. From there, Nadal wrapped up the set 6-3 with another break to reach the next stage.

The match lasted just over three hours, the second-longest the 37-year-old has played this year (after a three hour and 26-minute loss to Jordan Thompson in Brisbane).

With the victory, Rafael Nadal marked the first time he earned three consecutive wins on the ATP Tour since 2022 when he reached the fourth round of the US Open. After beating Rinky Hijikata, Fabio Fognini and Richard Gasquet, the former World No. 1 lost to Frances Tiafoe.

Since then, Nadal has managed two wins in a row only once - at the Brisbane International earlier this year.

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Rafael Nadal to take on Jiri Lehecka in fourth round of Madrid Open 2024

Mutua Madrid Open - Day Seven

Following his win over Pedro Cachin, Rafael Nadal next takes on Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round of the 2024 Madrid Open. The Czech youngster, seeded No. 30 at the Masters 1000 event, beat Thiago Monteiro in the third round on Monday.

Nadal and Lehecka have never faced each other on tour before. The winner of the clash will take on either third seed Daniil Medvedev or 17th seed Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals.