Five-time champion Rafael Nadal will face 30th seed Jiri Lehecka in the fourth round of the Madrid Open on Tuesday night. They have never crossed paths on the ATP Tour before.
Date: April 30, 2024
Match time: Around 9:30 PM local time / 3:30 PM EDT – New York, Montreal / 8:30 PM BST – United Kingdom / 9:30 PM CET – Spain, France, Germany, Italy / 9:30 PM SAST – South Africa / 1 AM IST – New Delhi / 5:30 AM AEST – Melbourne. To convert to your local time, use this website.
Rafa on playing Jiri:
“I will play against a very high level player, he has a very powerful serve and hits from outside the court. Alex [De Minaur, world No. 11 who he beat last round] may be ranked higher than Lehecka, but his ball quality is another level, so we’ll see.”
Jiri on playing Rafa:
“He’s 600 in the world so I should be the favourite. (laughs) It will be a great honour and a great experience for me. We all know Rafa on clay is one of the biggest challenges in tennis. Even if he’s not having the best season, I saw his level against De Minaur and it made me want to say that his tennis was back. He proved he could play great tennis again. It will be a great challenge for me and I’ll be very happy to share the court with him.”
Rafa holds a 59-14 tournament record in Madrid and will aim to reach his 10th consecutive quarter-final in in the Spanish capital against the 22-year-old from Czechia.
GOOD LUCK & VAMOS RAFA!
Madrid couldn’t do better farewell for Rafa. Very positive n emotional week for Rafa. Go well in upcoming events on clay dear. Love you my champ
That was a very annoying match. Lehecka came to serve and did his job very well, and vey annoyingly for us Rafa fans. But then our champ did not hold up his own end of the bargain by getting broken.
But that’s the bad. The good? Rafa played 4 matches, and looked good mostly. Also, Madrid really isn’t his favourite hunting ground, as it favours big hitters like Mr. Serve from last night.
I think the positives outweigh the negatives. Rafa should be content and hopefully make it to Rome with some good vibes.
What a beautiful ceremony for Rafa after tonight’s match in Madrid!💪🍷🎁They presented Rafa a beautiful trophy and banners to celebrate his decades of achievement in the sport of tennis. His beautiful wife and sister were both moved to tears overflowing with emotions. So hard to say goodbye to such a giant icon in the sport…onwards and upwards to Rome and Roland Garros! Vamos Rafa!!
Have a great time Mimi! Wish I were there.
Thank you David! I had a magical week.😁
Congratulations to Iga and Andrey👏👏
Todo va ir bien
Haz tú tenis, del cual estoy enamorada,
Yo veo un tenis muy bueno para altos, en ti, no sabemos quién va a ganar, pero se que vas a luchar y ser competitivo, tien s ADN de campeón,
Sea cual sea el resultado , yo SIEMPRE CONTIGO, !!!!
There’s an older lady with dark curly hair who’s been sitting with the Nadal family, and on the family photos. I’m assuming that she must be Mery’s mother. Does anyone know?
Yes, it’s her mother.
See you tonight Rafa, all the best! ❤️
Good luck and Vamos Rafa❤️
Oh, goodness – Lehecka.
This should be the litmus test.
GO, DEAR RAFA!