<p>Rafael Nadal enjoyed a winning return after a six-week injury break, opening his Madrid Open campaign with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) success over Serbia&rsquo;s Miomir Kecmanovic on Wednesday.</p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><img title="Russia&rsquo;s Andrey Rublev" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/images/2022/may/Andrey-Rublev_e.jpg" alt="Russia&rsquo;s Andrey Rublev" width="1280" height="720" /><strong><em>Russia&rsquo;s Andrey Rublev</em></strong></p>
<p>Nadal said his preparation for the tournament was &ldquo;non-existent&rdquo; 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. &ldquo;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,&rdquo; said the Mallorcan.</p>
<h2>In-form opponent</h2>
<p>&ldquo;It helps me a lot to reach my final goal, which is to recover my previous health and previous fitness. I&rsquo;m very excited about it,&rdquo; said the Spaniard. Kecmanovic, 22, entered the match carrying the second-highest tally of wins on tour this season&mdash;his 23 victories placing him just one behind Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Carlos Alcaraz.</p>
<h2>Rublev enters quarters</h2>
<p>On Thursday, sixth seed Andrey Rublev reached the seventh Masters 1000 quarter-final of his career with a 7-6(9/7), 7-5 result against Dan Evans of Great Britain.</p>
<h2>Indisposed Murray pulls out</h2>
<p>It was the second blow of the day for the British as Andy Murray had earlier pulled out of his meeting with Novak Djokovic because of illness.</p>
<p>Former World No.1 Murray was forced to pull out of his last-16 match against Djokovic, citing food poisoning. &ldquo;Unfortunately Andy Murray is ill and is not in a position to play,&rdquo; the Madrid Open organisers said.</p>
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Spaniard Nadal thrilled to defeat Serb Kecmanovic 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) considering the victory was achieved without any preparation due to a rib injury

Rafa’s win has ‘value’

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Rafa’s win has ‘value’

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