Nadal Wins on Return from Injury in Madrid

Tennis - ATP Masters 1000 - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 14, 2021 Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his quarter final match against Germany's Alexander Zverev REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Tennis - ATP Masters 1000 - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 14, 2021 Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his quarter final match against Germany's Alexander Zverev REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
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Nadal Wins on Return from Injury in Madrid

Tennis - ATP Masters 1000 - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 14, 2021 Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his quarter final match against Germany's Alexander Zverev REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
Tennis - ATP Masters 1000 - Italian Open - Foro Italico, Rome, Italy - May 14, 2021 Spain's Rafael Nadal in action during his quarter final match against Germany's Alexander Zverev REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane

Rafael Nadal enjoyed a winning return after a six-week injury break, opening his Madrid campaign with a 6-1, 7-6(7/4) success over Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic on Wednesday.

The Spanish star had been sidelined with a rib injury since his Indian Wells final defeat in March but showed little sign of rust as he skipped into the third round.

Nadal said his preparation for the tournament was "non-existent" due to his rib problem limiting his ability to train and was thrilled by how well he played against one of the most in-form players of the season.

"Today I was able to play one hour, 55 minutes against an opponent that was playing really well in these last months, so a really good victory, a lot of value to it," said the 35-year-old Mallorcan.

"It helps me a lot to reach my final goal, which is to recover my previous health and previous fitness. I'm very excited about it."

The 22-year-old Kecmanovic entered the match carrying the second-highest tally of wins on tour this season –- his 23 victories placing him just one behind Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz.

Nadal, a three-time title winner in 2022, improved to 21-1 for the year and now plays Belgian qualifier David Goffin.

After a fairly routine opening set and a brief rain delay, Nadal faced significant resistance from the world number 32, who was broken in game five of the second set but struck back immediately as he started to find his range from the baseline.

Nadal found an opening at 5-5 and broke on his first opportunity, thanks to a long backhand from Kecmanovic. The number three seed could not serve out the win though, dropping serve as Kecmanovic forced a tie-break.

The pair were neck and neck, gifting each other mini-breaks before Nadal finally secured the win in just under two hours with an ace.



Eala Makes History for Philippines by Reaching Eastbourne Final

Philippines' Alexandra Eala reacts on match point after beating France's Varvara Gracheva in their women's singles semi-final tennis match on day five of the Lexus Eastbourne International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, southern England, on June 27, 2025. (AFP)
Philippines' Alexandra Eala reacts on match point after beating France's Varvara Gracheva in their women's singles semi-final tennis match on day five of the Lexus Eastbourne International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, southern England, on June 27, 2025. (AFP)
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Eala Makes History for Philippines by Reaching Eastbourne Final

Philippines' Alexandra Eala reacts on match point after beating France's Varvara Gracheva in their women's singles semi-final tennis match on day five of the Lexus Eastbourne International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, southern England, on June 27, 2025. (AFP)
Philippines' Alexandra Eala reacts on match point after beating France's Varvara Gracheva in their women's singles semi-final tennis match on day five of the Lexus Eastbourne International tennis tournament in Eastbourne, southern England, on June 27, 2025. (AFP)

Alexandra Eala became the first Filipino to reach a WTA Tour final as she beat fellow qualifier Varvara Gracheva 7-5 2-6 6-3 at the Eastbourne Open on Friday, while lucky loser Jenson Brooksby will meet holder Taylor Fritz in the men's final.

Left-hander Eala, ranked 74th in the world, edged a tight first set before losing five games in a row in the second as the match appeared to be slipping away.

But the 20-year-old regrouped in the decider and survived a tough seventh game before breaking her French opponent's serve to lead 5-3. She then enjoyed a love service game to seal victory.

In Saturday's final she will face 19-year-old Australian Maya Joint who beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 7-5 6-3.

It will be the youngest Eastbourne final since 1981 when Tracy Austin faced fellow American Andrea Jaeger.

"I'm super happy because that was a tough match and there were some really tough moments," an emotional Eala, who is based in Mallorca and trains at the Rafa Nadal Academy, said on court.

"It was tough physically and mentally because she is a tough player and also came from qualifying."

Eala's run will not have gone unnoticed by Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, who has been drawn to play her in the first round at the All England Club next week.

Krejcikova reached the quarter-finals at Eastbourne but withdrew with a thigh injury on Thursday.

Joint continued her impressive run as she reached her first WTA final on grass, coming from 5-3 behind in the opening set against Pavlyuchenkova to take control.

"I'm very excited," the 51st-ranked Joint said on court. "I've learned to love playing on grass this week."

Three-times champion Fritz overcame Spanish sixth seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 3-6 6-1 and will now face fellow-American Brooksby after the lucky loser beat French fourth seed Ugo Humbert.

Fritz broke the Spaniard's first service game as he comfortably won the first set, and while Davidovich Fokina fought back to force a decider, the American broke twice in the last set to reach the final for the fourth time.

Brooksby won his first ATP title in April at the US Men's Clay Court Championship, where he began as a wildcard in the qualifying rounds and his 6-7(7) 6-4 6-4 win over Humbert sees the American make it to another final.

"I think it's a lot less pressure when you don't expect to be in the main draw and get the opportunity," Brooksby said.

"You just want to make the most of it."

Humbert came from 5-3 down to win the opening set on a tiebreak, before Brooksby bounced back despite the Frenchman's battling spirit.

The American took a 3-0 lead in the next two sets and Humbert drew level on both occasions, but Brooksby clinched both sets with a break of serve.