Novak Djokovic returned to action at the Monte-Carlo Masters with a comfortable victory but Jack Draper was narrowly beaten while Carlos Alcaraz pulled out through injury.
The Spaniard, recently overtaken as world number two by Jannik Sinner, had been due to face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round after receiving a first-round bye but is struggling with a forearm problem.
Alcaraz wrote on social media: “I have been working in Monte Carlo and trying to recover until the last minute from an injured pronator teres in my right arm, but it was not possible and I cannot play! I was really looking forward to playing… See you next year!”
The 20-year-old won his first title since last summer’s Wimbledon in Indian Wells last month but was then beaten by Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open.
It is an important part of the season for Alcaraz, who is due to defend his titles in Barcelona and Madrid over the next month. He has been replaced in the draw by Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego.
Djokovic played his first match since Indian Wells after choosing to skip Miami and then parting ways with long-time coach Goran Ivanisevic.
With former Serbian doubles specialist Nenad Zimonjic guiding him from the stands, Djokovic, now the oldest men’s singles number one in history, eased to a 6-1 6-2 victory over Russia’s Roman Safiullin.
The 36-year-old said on Sky Sports: “I’m very pleased. Even the games that I lost, I had break points in those games. Really good first match at the start of the clay season. I hope to maintain this rhythm.”
Draper took on 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz and for the second year in a row lost a very tight contest.
The British number two forced a deciding set and then broke Hurkacz, champion on clay in Estoril last week, when he served for the match at 5-4 but the Pole played a brilliant tie-break to win 6-4 3-6 7-6 (2).
Draper’s exit ends British interest in singles, with Cameron Norrie and Dan Evans also losing in the first round.
Swiatek admits she would swap shirts with 'huge inspiration' Nadal
Iga Swiatek admits that, like Pedro Cachin, she would also swap shirts with Rafael Nadal following his Madrid Open exit.
The 22-time grand slam champion's farewell appearance at the clay-court ATP Masters tournament, which he has won five times, was ended by a straight-sets defeat to Jiri Lehecka.
Nadal had beaten Cachin in the last 32, with the Argentine subsequently asking his idol for his shirt as a memento following their clash.
Although Swiatek has never been tempted to follow suit with an opponent, the world number one acknowledged she might make an exception for the Spaniard.
"If I would play against Rafa, for sure I would ask for a T-shirt," she laughed.
"For sure, he was a huge inspiration. When I was younger, he was basically the only player I looked up to, but not because of his game on clay - more because of the way he is off the court and how he never gives up, and also his mentality."
Swiatek is through to the semi-finals in the ladies' draw after recovering from losing the opening set to defeat Beatriz Haddad Maia 4-6 6-0 6-2.
The Pole, who will play former US Open runner-up Madison Keys in the last four, equalled Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova as the fastest player to reach 25 WTA 1000 wins on clay, doing so in just 29 matches.
Nadal slumps out of Madrid Open as farewell appearance comes to a halt
Jiri Lehecka claimed a memorable win over one of tennis' greats as he downed Rafael Nadal at the Madrid Open.
Nadal's farewell appearance at the tournament he has won five times came to an end with a 7-5 6-4 defeat on Tuesday.
The 22-time grand slam champion had been hoping to tee up a quarter-final against Daniil Medvedev.
Ultimately, though, world number 31 Lehecka was the man who progressed.
Lehecka ruined the hopes of the Nadal fans packed into the stands in the Spanish capital, and took control when he reeled off 10 straight points to take the opening set.
Nadal won the Madrid Open in 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014 and 2017, and said farewell to the crowd in an on-court interview following his defeat.
Data Debrief: Nadal falls short of milestone
Nadal had been hoping to win his 60th match at the Madrid Open, while he would have reached his 100th ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final had he won. This was his first defeat to a player ranked lower than 20th in the world since he went down to Pablo Cuevas in 2016.
Lehecka, meanwhile, will make his second appearance in the last eight of a Masters 1000 event.
Auger-Aliassime gets the better of Ruud as Medvedev hits Masters 1000 milestone
Casper Ruud's hopes of building on his victory at the Barcelona Open were ended as he lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Madrid Open.
Auger-Aliassime will now face top seed Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, after claiming a 6-4 7-5 victory over the fifth seed Ruud on Tuesday.
Ruud, runner-up at last year's French Open and a force to be reckoned with on clay, won in Barcelona earlier in April, but came unstuck against the Canadian.
It was not the only shock exit, as Alexander Zverev, the world number five, succumbed in straight sets to Francisco Cerundolo.
Earlier, Daniil Medvedev claimed his place in the quarters, in which he could face Rafael Nadal, by beating Alexander Bublik 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Data Debrief: Medvedev's milestone
Five of the six quarter-finals Medvedev has reached on clay have come at either ATP Masters 1000 or grand slam level.
He has now reached at least the quarter-final stage at all nine Masters events, too.
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