After Great Start, Nadal Returns from Injury at Madrid Open

Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal (C) does the kick-off ahead the Spanish LaLiga match between Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, 30 April 2022. (EPA)
Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal (C) does the kick-off ahead the Spanish LaLiga match between Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, 30 April 2022. (EPA)
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After Great Start, Nadal Returns from Injury at Madrid Open

Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal (C) does the kick-off ahead the Spanish LaLiga match between Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, 30 April 2022. (EPA)
Spanish tennis player Rafa Nadal (C) does the kick-off ahead the Spanish LaLiga match between Real Madrid and RCD Espanyol at Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, 30 April 2022. (EPA)

Back home, Rafael Nadal looks to resume his season where he left off before being sidelined by an injury that halted a great start to his year.

Nadal will seek his fourth title of the season this week at the Madrid Open as he returns to action following a rib stress fracture that kept him out for about a month.

Nadal had won his first 20 matches of the year before getting injured in the semifinals at Indian Wells. He made it to the final but lost to Taylor Fritz for his first defeat. Until then, it had been the third-best start to a season on the ATP Tour since 1990.

Nadal won the Australian Open for a record 21st Grand Slam title and also won in Melbourne and Acapulco. He missed tournaments in Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona because of the injury.

The 35-year-old Spaniard will be trying to win the Madrid title for the sixth time, and first since 2017, though he said last week he would have "few chances" of winning after arriving "with minimum preparation."

He will debut against either Miomir Kecmanovic or Alexander Bublik.

Nadal could face a semifinal against top-ranked Novak Djokovic, who has been trying to regain his best form after a slow start to the season.

A three-time winner in Madrid, Djokovic was coming off a runner-up finish in Serbia, where he won three three-set matches before losing the final to Andrey Rublev.

His first match in Madrid will be against either Gael Monfils or Carlos Gimeno Valero.

Another home-crowd favorite in Madrid will be young sensation Carlos Alcaraz, who made it to No. 9 in the world after titles in Rio de Janeiro, Miami and Barcelona.

The 18-year-old, touted by many as Nadal’s heir, could face his idol in the quarterfinals. He lost to Nadal in the tournament’s second round last year.

Alcaraz will begin his campaign against Nikoloz Basilashvili or Fabio Fognini.

Former world No. 1 Andy Murray, a two-time winner in Madrid, will be back at the clay-court tournament for the first time since 2017. He will face a marquee first-round match against former world No. 3 Dominic Thiem, a two-time finalist in the Spanish capital.

Thiem has been recovering from a wrist injury that sidelined him for eight months.

The 34-year-old Murray had earlier said he would skip the clay season but ended up accepting the wildcard invitation to play in Spain.



Inzaghi Leaves Inter After Champions League Final Defeat

Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain v Inter Milan - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - May 31, 2025 Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain v Inter Milan - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - May 31, 2025 Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi reacts. (Reuters)
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Inzaghi Leaves Inter After Champions League Final Defeat

Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain v Inter Milan - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - May 31, 2025 Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi reacts. (Reuters)
Football - Champions League - Final - Paris St Germain v Inter Milan - Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany - May 31, 2025 Inter Milan coach Simone Inzaghi reacts. (Reuters)

Simone Inzaghi has left his position as manager of Inter Milan, the Serie A club said on Tuesday.

The 49-year-old is departing just three days after a humiliating 5-0 loss in the Champions League final against Paris St Germain and will not lead Inter in the upcoming Club World Cup.

Inzaghi and Inter ended the season on a disappointing note after finishing second in Serie A, one point behind champions Napoli, and were knocked out in the Coppa Italia semi-finals 4–1 on aggregate by city rivals AC Milan.

"The time has come for me to say goodbye to this club after a four-year journey, during which I gave everything," Inzaghi said in a separate statement.

Inzaghi's tenure ended having won six trophies in total, one Serie A Scudetto, two Coppa Italia triumphs and three Supercoppa Italia trophies.

"I want to dedicate one last word to the millions of Nerazzurri (Inter) fans who cheered me on, cried and suffered in difficult moments and laughed and celebrated in the six triumphs we experienced together," he added.

"I will never forget you."