Rafael Nadal delivers a timely reminder of his calibre to delight home crowd

Nadal beat Alex de Minaur 7-6 (6), 6-3 at Madrid OpenFirst time since November 2022 Nadal has beaten a top-30 playerIn the feverish buildup to his final appearance at the Madrid Open, Rafael Nadal made himself abundantly clear. It was not too long ago that he was unsure if he would ever return to the court at all and so, with his lingering physical limitations, he came to Madrid with the intention of saying goodbye to his home crowd, not to win. But this is a 22-time grand slam champion whose ca