Madrid Open 2019: Rafael Nadal Cruises to Win in Wednesday Action

Rafael Nadal won his opening match at the 2019 Madrid Open on Wednesday with a dominant victory over Canadian teenager Felix Auger-Aliassime.

There were also wins for Alexander Zverev, Kei Nishikori and Stanislas Wawrinka, while seventh seed Juan Martin del Porto's tournament is over after he was beaten in three sets by Serbia's Laslo Dere.

Meanwhile, Gael Monfils came from a set down to beat Marton Fucsovics and thrilled the crowd by producing an outrageous winner on his way to victory:

In the women's draw, No.1 seed Naomi Osaka is safely into the quarter-finals after beating Belarusian Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets.

No. 2 seed Petra Kvitova is also through after seeing off Caroline Garcia, while Simona Halep progressed by thrashing Slovakia's Viktoria Kuzmova 6-0, 6-0 in just 45 minutes to set up a meeting with Australian Ashleigh Barty. 

Men's Singles Selected Results

(2) Rafael Nadal bt. Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3

Laslo Dere bt. (7) Juan Martin del Porto 6-3, 2-6, 7-5

(15) Gael Monfils bt. Marton Fucsovics 1-6, 6-4, 6-2

Stanislas Wawrinka bt. Guido Pella 6-4, 6-3

Jeremy Chardy bt. Diego Schwartzman 6-1, 6-2

Frances Tiafoe bt. Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

(6) Kei Nishikori bt. Hugo Dellien 7-5, 7-5

(10) Fabio Fognini bt. John Millman 6-2, 6-2

(8) Stefanos Tsitsipas bt. Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 7-5

Hubert Hurkacz bt. Lucas Pouille 7-5, 6-1

(3) Alexander Zverev bt. David Ferrer 6-4, 6-1

Women's Singles Results 

Belinda Bencic bt. Kateryna Kozlova 6-0, 6-2

(9) Ashleigh Barty bt. Yulia Putintseva 4-6, 6-1, 6-2

(1) Naomi Osaka vs. Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2,6-3

(7) Kiki Bertens bt. (12) Anastasija Sevastova 6-1, 6-2

(3) Simona Halep bt. Viktoria Kuzmova 6-0, 6-0

(8) Sloane Stephens bt. Zheng Saisai 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

(2) Petra Kvitova bt. Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-3

Petra Martic bt. Donna Vekic 4-6, 6-3, 3-0 (retired)

Selected Thursday Matches

(6) Kei Nishikori vs. Stanislas Wawrinka

(9) Marin Cilic vs. Laslo Dere

Frances Tiafoe vs. (2) Rafael Nadal

(10) Fabio Fognini vs. (5) Dominic Thiem

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. Jeremy Chardy

(4) Roger Federer vs. Gael Monfils

(1) Naomi Osaka vs. Belinda Bencic

(3) Simona Halep vs. Ashleigh Barty

The full schedule can be found at the tournament's official website.

Wednesday Recap

Nadal was given a warm welcome by the Madrid crowd as he made his first appearance on Wednesday:

The Spaniard's preparations for the tournament had been disrupted by a stomach virus, but he showed no ill-effects against the talented 18-year-old.

Both players had to contend with windy conditions in the Spanish capital, but the second seed took advantage of some unforced errors to gain the crucial break with Auger-Aliassime serving at 3-4.

Nadal then served out the first set with no problems to clinch the opener.

The second seed improved as the match progressed and was dominant on serve. He gained an early break in the second on his way to a comfortable win:

It was a solid performance from Nadal as he bids for a sixth title in Madrid, and he goes on to face America's Frances Tiafoe in the next round.

Osaka reached the quarter-finals in Madrid for the first time in her career in a straightforward win over an in-form Sasnovich.

There was little to choose between the two players in the early stages, as six of the first seven games went to deuce.

However, the reigning U.S. and Australian Open champion just had the edge on her opponent, using power and precision to win the first three games in a row and take the lead:

Osaka did have to save two break points before managing to force three set points at 5-2 on the Sasnovich serve. The Belarusian then double-faulted to hand Osaka the first set.

The 21-year-old broke early in the second to take control of the match. Sasnovich did manage to break straight back, but Osaka broke again and then held serve to see out the second set out 6-3:

Halep is also safely through after an utterly dominant victory that secured her a place in the quarter-finals for the fifth time in the past six years:

The match was briefly interrupted by rain in the opening stages, allowing the roof to be closed which seemed to suit Halep much more than her opponent.

The Romanian lost just seven points in the opening set and only five more in the second as she raced to victory:

It was a tough day for the 20-year-old Kuzmova, who could not get near her opponent, as Halep put in a near-flawless performance to secure the second double bagel of her career on the WTA Tour.