Tennis: Nadal is not sure he will be able to play again this Tuesday

Rafael Nadal, who is attempting a final return to form at almost 38 years old despite his battered body, does not know in what state he will approach his round of 16 at the Masters 1000 in Madrid on Tuesday, the day after his three-hour match in the third round .

Victorious after 03h04 min of the Argentinian Pedro Cachin (91st) 6-1, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3 Monday evening, the Spaniard with 22 Grand Slam coronations must face the young Czech Jiri Lehecka (31st) from this Tuesday evening.

“I was shocked. Right away, I don't feel that I've hurt myself, but I don't know how I'll wake up tomorrow (Tuesday), how tired I will be. We have to wait,” insisted Nadal.

“We will see if I am able to play two matches in two days, how I wake up and if I am really capable of playing a match. I hope so. But it’s an unknown for me, he said. It’s been a long time since I’ve experienced charges like that in an official match.”

“I hope to be on the court tomorrow,” Rafa repeated. If I am competitive tomorrow, I assure you it will be a success for me.” If so, “it will have been a very positive week. Four matches here is very good news,” he anticipated.

Nadal would nevertheless be surprised to win against Lehecka, "especially after today's match."

The Madrid tournament in any case offers him as much rest time as possible, since his match is scheduled for the last Tuesday evening (second match from 8 p.m.).

“It's not an hour that I like, but with the circumstances of the day, having played more than three hours, the most prudent thing is to play at that time, rather than at 4 p.m. That leaves me more hours to sleep and work tomorrow,” Nadal said.