• 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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Luca Guadagnino’s sizzling, sharply scripted drama, co-starring Josh O’Connor and Mike Faist, is such fun it’s almost indecent

Nobody harnesses horniness quite like Luca Guadagnino . With his lavish, luxurious portrait of forbidden lust, the Tilda Swinton -starring I Am Love , Guadagnino embraced one of cinema’s most cliched symbolic sensual devices, filling the frame with come-hither shots of delectable food. But somehow, in his hands, this hackneyed metaphor feels fresh, and the film is a skin-tingling exploration of erotic tension. Then there’s Call Me By Your Name , with its scenes of peach-grappling and languid yearning, in which even the spaces between the characters are charged with longing. And Bones and All , which virtually rebrands cannibalism as a legitimate kink. But even by Guadagnino’s highly charged standards, Challengers is an absurdly sexy movie. With its power plays and exquisite cruelty, the shimmering beauty of its three leads and their tantalising interlocking desires, and the slow-motion shots of pooling sweat dripping on to the lens, the film borders on trashy at times, but it’s so much fun that it’s practically indecent.

At the very centre of the story, and providing much of the muscular energy that drives it, is a never better Zendaya. Deploying every last drop of her silky star quality, she plays Tashi, a former tennis prodigy. When we meet her, Tashi is now coaching her husband, Art (Mike Faist, channelling a thorny combination of brash entitlement and neediness), a multi-grand-slam-winning tennis champion who has hit a confidence-sapping losing streak. And it’s more than his career that hangs in the balance. The stress is compounded because Art is well aware that for his wife, losers are a massive turn-off. “I love you,” he says plaintively. “I know,” she purrs, lazily uninterested. Advantage Tashi.

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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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• 22-year-old loses 6-1, 7-5 against Polish eighth seed
• Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz wins in straight sets

For most of this season, when Jack Draper has faced off against elite opponents, those matches have played out as long, tight battles. Even when the 22-year-old has lost, he has usually offered a full demonstration of his talent.

Draper’s time at the Madrid Open this year, however, ended with unusual haste on Friday as his poor serving was punished by a spectacular Hubert Hurkacz, the eighth seed, who rolled through to reach the third round with a 6-1, 7-5 win.

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Disponible depuis ce mardi 23 avril, on a le jeu en test depuis vendredi dernier, comme toutes les rédactions, on a voulu prendre le temps de ré-apprendre afin de performer sur ce qui est tout simplement, spoiler alert, la simulation de tennis.

• 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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Super-rich can avoid queues as club puts five-year debentures up for sale – applications close on Friday

Tennis fans who struggle each year to secure tickets in Wimbledon’s public ballot or wait hours in the famous queue may be surprised to discover that almost a fifth of the seats on Centre Court are being sold to the global super-rich for £116,000 – each.

A total of 2,520 of the “debentures” are on sale, offering a reserved seat for each of the 14 days of the tournament for five years from 2026-30. Applications to buy the exclusive seats – positioned on the same level as the royal box – close at midday on Friday.

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• Polish champion beats Raducanu 7-6 (2), 6-3 at Stuttgart Open
• Swiatek will face Elena Rybakina in semi-final

Emma Raducanu’s progress in the Stuttgart Open was halted in straight sets by the world No 1, Iga Swiatek.

The Polish four-time grand slam champion, in her 100th week on top of the world rankings, prevailed 7-6 (2), 6-3 to set up a semi-final with Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina. It was, however, an encouraging quarter-final performance from Raducanu, who has slipped to 303 in the rankings after a torrid 2023.

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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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