Andy Murray has admitted he is "surprised" to still be able to compete against top-level opponents given his injury history.
The 2012 US Open champion exited this year's competition following a third-round defeat to 13th seed Matteo Berrettini, though he did take the tie to four sets.
Having lost the first two sets, Murray fought back to win the tiebreaker in the third but his valiant attempts were ended by the Italian in the fourth, who sets up a round of 16 clash against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Despite the loss, Murray was pleased with his performance at the tournament and encouraged by his ability to still go toe-to-toe with the likes of Berrettini.
"I've got a metal hip. It's not easy playing with that. It's really difficult. I'm surprised I'm still able to compete with guys that are right up at the top of the game," he said after the match.
"Matches like this, you know, I'm really proud that I have worked myself into a position where I'm able to do that. I'm really disappointed that I didn't get over the line today.
"But I get reminded like 'this is the first time you've made the third round here since 2016'. It's been six years. It's been a difficult six years for me. It's been really hard.
"Although it's the first time I've only made the third round here, I'm really proud of that effort that I put in to get myself back into these positions. So, I'm hoping that in the future I can go further, but considering, I did all right."
Murray went on to explain how things feel differently for him on the court, identifying he cannot move in the same way Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic still can.
"A lot of the things feel the same, but obviously I'm just not quite capable of the sort of movement and physicality that I was five, six years ago. I mean, that's pretty obvious. You know, I shouldn't expect to be," he said.
"I think if you watch Rafa and Novak moving around the court now who are similar age, I think they're moving pretty similar to how they were five, six years ago, whereas for me there's obviously been a bit of a drop-off there.
"That can affect you in terms of how you have to play the points. Maybe you just don't track as many balls down as before. Maybe the reach isn't just quite as much as it was.
"But in terms of the shots and everything, there is nothing that is stopping me from hitting the same shots as I did before."
World number one Swiatek sees off Xiyu in Madrid opener
World number one Iga Swiatek overcame Wang Xiyu with the minimum of fuss on Thursday to progress to the third round of the Madrid Open.
Swiatek has yet to win the title in Madrid, which is the only clay-court European event at which the Pole has not triumphed, but she got off to a flying start with a 6-1 6-4 victory over Xiyu.
"I love this place. I got to know the city a little better last year," Swiatek said. "So this time I feel more comfortable around."
Next up for the 22-year-old is a third-round tie against 27th seed Sorana Cirstea on Saturday.
Data Debrief
Swiatek has registered 150 match wins on the WTA Tour since the start of 2022. Elena Rybakina and Coco Gauff are the next best with 108 wins each.
She also became the first player born this century to claim 50 combined match wins in Madrid, Rome and Roland-Garros, since the inaugural women's singles event at the Madrid Open in 2009.
Dominant Gauff double bagels Rus at Madrid Open
Coco Gauff made a flying start to her Madrid Open campaign on Thursday, recording the first double bagel main-draw win of her career as she cruised past Arantxa Rus to reach the round of 32.
Gauff needed just 51 minutes to see off 33-year-old Rus as she booked a meeting with Ukraine's Dayana Yamstremska for Saturday.
The US Open champion lost just 18 points throughout the match – eight in the opener and 10 in the second set – as she put any doubts over her recent form to bed in emphatic fashion.
Gauff's power proved too much for Rus in the opener, the third seed winning 88 per cent of points behind her first serve and converting three of four break points to go a set up in just 23 minutes.
Rus brought up four break points midway through the second set, but when she failed to convert them, Gauff punished her in ruthless fashion by reeling off another three games then finishing things with a terrific forehand winner.
Speaking after her win, the American said: "I played really well today. It was just one of those days for me… 6-0 6-0, I've never done that before, I'll probably never do it again."
Data Debrief: Gauff matches Azarenka, Halep feat
Gauff is just the third player to register a 6-0 6-0 win in the women's singles draw at the Madrid Open, following in the footsteps of two former world number ones in Victoria Azarenka and Simona Halep.
The American, who only turned 20 last month, is also the youngest player to double bagel an opponent in any main-draw match on the WTA Tour since Iga Swiatek did so against Karolina Pliskova in the 2021 Italian Open final in Rome.
Nadal cruises past teen Blanch to tee up De Minaur rematch in Madrid
Darwin Blanch presented little challenge for Rafael Nadal, who dropped just one game in a convincing 6-1 6-0 triumph at the Madrid Open.
Nadal is feeling his way back to fitness, but 16-year-old qualifier Blanch offered little resistance to the 22-time major champion on Thursday.
Making his farewell appearance at the Madrid Open, where he has won five titles, Nadal needed just 64 minutes to progress to round two.
"I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes," said Nadal.
"I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks. It worked well. I'm happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future."
Nadal's reward is a rematch with Alex de Minaur, who he lost to last week in Barcelona.
Data Debrief
This game saw the largest age gap (21 years, 117 days) between two opponents in the history of ATP Masters 1000 events.
Nadal has now registered 57 wins at the Madrid Open, which is 20 clear of any other player.
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