Nadal’s consolation win

But the circumstances of his 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 triumph in Madrid still leave questions as to whether Nadal has returned to the level that has long made him king of clay.

He was overpowered until Nishikori started to struggle and had to withdraw.

Until Nishikori received medical treatment halfway through the second set, Nadal had made several unforced errors and had been unable to cope with Nishikori’s pace from the baseline and his timely forays to the net. Nadal later described the first set as “a thrashing.”

But Nadal also took comfort from his overall performance in his hometown tournament. “Even though I played a bad first set, I think I played a lot better throughout this tournament,” he said, “and that is the most important for me.

Although Nadal was the defending champion here, he arrived in Madrid after making his worst start to a clay season in a decade, having lost unexpectedly in the quarterfinals in Monte Carlo and then Barcelona, two tournaments that he had long dominated.

Stunning run

Until recently, Nishikori had his best results on hardcourts, but he had shown his potential on clay a year ago in Madrid, where he ousted Roger Federer, who was the defending champion. This year, Nishikori arrived in Madrid after winning the clay tournament in Barcelona, and Federer and Novak Djokovic were not competing.

Nishikori had not beaten Nadal in six previous encounters. But on Sunday, he broke Nadal in the third game with a backhand volley and eventually closed the set with an ace.

Nishikori still looked in control in the second set, breaking Nadal to lead, 4-2. But after losing the following game, he received treatment on his back, which had troubled him in his semifinal win over David Ferrer.

As Nishikori then started to lose his rhythm and hobble around the court, the crowd began chanting, “Si, se puede” (one translation is “Yes, we can”) to encourage Nadal. The one who no longer could, however, was Nishikori, grimacing and barely able to return Nadal’s serve. By the start of the third set, the match started to resemble the slow agony of a wounded bull at the hands of a matador.

Nishikori later said at a news conference that he had “never felt like this on clay.” Then, he said, he suddenly started feeling pain spread from his hip.

“I was playing really aggressive, and I tried not to play his game,” Nishikori said, describing the match until he began to feel discomfort. “But he was also making some unforced errors that he usually doesn’t.”

Tishikori cracks top 10

Tokyo: Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man to break into the top 10 of the world tennis rankings on Monday.

Nishikori, who is No. 9, was assured of a place in the top 10 after beating Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open.

“It was a big goal for me to get top 10, but it’s just only one week for now,” Nishikori said on the ATP website. “So I have to keep playing better tennis and keep this ranking. My goal is not to get one time into the top 10. Hopefully I can keep this ranking.”

The 24-year-old Nishikori beat David Ferrer 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3 in the semifinals in Madrid before retiring from Sunday’s final with a hip injury when trailing Rafael Nadal 2-6, 6-4, 3-0.

Nishikori, who went into the Madrid Open at No. 12, had previously reached a career-high of No. 11 in June 2013.

The Japanese player beat Santiago Giraldo 6-2, 6-2 to win the Barcelona Open on April 27 for his fifth career title and his second of the year. Nishikori becomes the first Asian to rank inside the top 10 since Paradorn Srichaphan of Thailand did so on March 29, 2004.

Serena doubtful in rome

ROME: Serena Williams isn’t committing to playing in the Italian Open yet as she waits to see how her injured left thigh feels. Williams withdrew before her quarterfinal match at the Madrid Open last week.

She says “I’m taking it a day at a time. We’ll see as the week goes on. I have the rest of the day off and I’ll see how I feel tomorrow. … I hit some balls today a little bit so I’m going to see later tonight how it feels.”

Williams is the defending champion at the Foro Italico, and also won the title in 2002. Rome is the last key clay-court warmup for the French Open, which starts in two weeks. —AP