Auger-Aliassime, Nadal pick up 1st-round victories at Madrid Open | CBC Sports

Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime rallied to defeat Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the Madrid Open on Thursday.

Auger-Aliassime, ranked 35th in the world, fired 11 aces and won 81 per cent of his first serves in a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes on the clay surface.

The 23-year-old Canadian improved his career record to 3-2 over the 79th-ranked Nishioka.

Mannarino won their only previous encounter in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters in 2023.

In the women’s draw, Leylah Fernandez, of Laval, Quebec, was scheduled to face Russian Anastasia Potapova in a second-round match on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal didn’t need much effort as he cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over American teenager Darwin Blanch in the first round.

Nadal looked in good form in what was only his third match since returning from his latest injury layoff. He had made his return in Barcelona last week, losing to Alex De Minaur in the second round.

The 37-year-old Nadal had arrived in Madrid saying he was not 100 per cent fit, and that he was only going to play because the tournament was at home.

On Wednesday, Nadal said that in his current condition he would not play if this was the French Open.