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.



Arsenal Signs Spain Midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad

Spain's Martin Zubimendi celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Portugal during the Nations League final soccer match between Portugal and Spain at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Spain's Martin Zubimendi celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Portugal during the Nations League final soccer match between Portugal and Spain at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
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Arsenal Signs Spain Midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad

Spain's Martin Zubimendi celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Portugal during the Nations League final soccer match between Portugal and Spain at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
Spain's Martin Zubimendi celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Portugal during the Nations League final soccer match between Portugal and Spain at the Allianz Arena in Munich, Germany, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)

Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi joined Arsenal from Real Sociedad on Sunday, finally making the move to the Premier League after turning down Liverpool last year.

The transfer fee wasn't disclosed but the BBC reported Arsenal has paid almost 60 million pounds ($82 million) for the 26-year-old Zubimendi.

The holding midfielder made 236 appearances in all competitions for Sociedad after coming through the club’s academy. He played there alongside Mikel Merino, who joined Arsenal last year, The AP news reported.

Zubimendi has played 19 games for Spain, including coming on as a half-time substitute in the 2-1 win over England in the 2024 European Championship final.

“I set my sights on Arsenal because their style of play is a good fit for me," Zubimendi said. "They have shown their potential recently and the best is yet to come.”

Arsenal has finished second in the Premier League in each of the past three seasons.

“Martin is a player who will bring a huge amount of quality and football intelligence to our team," said Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, a fellow Spaniard. “He will fit in really well and he has all the attributes to be a key player for us.”

Zubimendi slots into the squad in place of Thomas Partey, whose contract expired this summer. On Friday, Partey was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, British police said.