• Five-times winner is honoured by event after 7-5, 6-4 defeat
• World No 1 Iga Swiatek to face Madison Keys in semi-finals

Rafael Nadal’s rousing, dramatic last stand on home soil came to an end just after midnight in the early hours of Wednesday morning as he was outhit and outplayed by Jiri Lehecka, a talented young Czech, who seized one of the biggest moments of his career so far by ­toppling the Spaniard 7-5, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open.

The defeat will likely mark Nadal’s final time competing at the tournament he has won a record five times, with the 37-year-old expecting 2024 to be the final year of his career.

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• Spaniard digs in to defeat Pedro Cachín 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3
• Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina through to quarter-finals

As Rafael Nadal continues to build the physical robustness, intensity and form required to be competitive over five sets against the best players in the world at the French Open, he took another step forward in his comeback by holding firm in a nervy, turbulent contest to reach the fourth round of the Madrid Open with a 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 win over Pedro Cachín of Argentina.

Having started the tournament with ample uncertainty after mostly being off the tour for the past 18 months due to various injuries, Nadal continues to make clear progress. Two days after seeing off Alex de Minaur , the 10th seed, in the second round, Nadal maintained his intensity across a three-hour, four-minute battle with Cachín, the world No 91, and he elevated his level in the decisive moment of the third set.

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• Nadal beat Alex de Minaur 7-6 (6), 6-3 at Madrid Open
• First time since November 2022 Nadal has beaten a top-30 player

In 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 career has been defined by his ability to win tennis matches on clay courts regardless of age, physical shape or environment. Of course he was not going to leave without a desperate fight.

Barely a week after he was dismantled by the very same opponent, Nadal returned to the fourth round here with an excellent performance, defeating Alex de Minaur, the 10th seed, 7-6 (6), 6-3 after more than two hours.

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• Spaniard eases to 6-1, 6-0 victory over 16-year-old wildcard
• Veteran to face Alex de Minaur in second round of Madrid Open

As Rafael Nadal prepared to enter the Estadio Manolo Santana for what could have been his final match on home soil, like every single match this week could be, much of the 12,400 capacity crowd filled out the walkway around the stadium. He emerged to a prolonged standing ovation, necks craning to catch a fleeting glimpse of his entrance.

It was a moment. The start of a final homecoming for the greatest athlete from these lands, but it remains to be seen if he has more to give. Against an extremely young opponent out of his depth, Nadal moved into the second round of the Madrid Open with efficiency and ease, dismantling Darwin Blanch – 21 years his junior - 6-1, 6-0 in an hour. “At least two more days,” said Nadal afterwards, laughing. “In the end, I’m happy.”

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• Spaniard ran out of steam against Australian in Barcelona
• The 37-year-old 22-time slam winner went down 7-5, 6-1

Rafael Nadal’s comeback effort ended on Wednesday with a second-round loss to the No 4 seed Alex de Minaur at the Barcelona Open.

Competing for the first time since early January, Nadal began his Spanish homecoming on Tuesday with a 6-2, 6-3 win against Italy’s Flavio Cobolli .

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• 37-year-old beats Cobolli 6-2, 6-3 in first match since January
• ‘I’m just having fun and happy to start with a victory’

Rafael Nadal made a winning return to the court with victory over Flavio Cobolli in the first round of the Barcelona Open.

The 37-year-old was playing his second tournament in 15 months after suffering another injury problem in his hip at his comeback event in Brisbane in January.

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• Spaniard has been sidelined by muscle injury since January
• ‘The only thing I can do is to accept the situation’

Rafael Nadal has expressed disappointment at being forced to miss the Monte Carlo Masters later this month.

Nadal has been off the tour since suffering a muscle injury in Brisbane in January , and the 37-year-old revealed on social media he is still not ready to return to action.

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• Spaniard still not fit enough to compete ‘at highest level’
• Andy Murray breezes past David Goffin in the first round

Rafael Nadal says he has made the “tough” decision to withdraw from Indian Wells as he is not yet “ready to play at the highest level”.

The 22-time grand slam singles winner has been off the tour since suffering a muscle injury in Brisbane in January . He was set to mark his return with a first-round match at Indian Wells against Canada’s Milos Raonic on Friday. However, in a post on social media, the 37-year-old said he is not yet ready to compete.

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The Spaniard faces a tough test in the first round against Milos Raonic, who is also keen to put dispiriting injuries behind him

As he prepared for what could very well be his final professional season this year, Rafael Nadal ensured that he took his time and he was ready for whatever was left. He wrote off the entire 2023 season after his serious hip injury at the Australian Open, only returning in time for the new year.

And yet, within a couple of matches into this season, the 22-time grand slam champion’s body betrayed him again. In the first week of January, Nadal limped out of the Brisbane tournament with another hip injury, missed the Australian Open and has not competed for two months.

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