After spending more than three hours on the court and earning a hard-fought victory, Rafael Nadal was feeling optimistic again.
Nadal's body withstood its toughest test yet at this Madrid Open in a 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-3 win over 91st-ranked Pedro Cachin on Monday, The Associated Press reported.
He didn't show any signs of physical limitations in a victory that earned him a spot in the round of 16 at the clay-court tournament where he is the record five-time champion.
“It’s positive, now I don’t feel that something went wrong on my body, but I need to wait until tomorrow, being 100% honest,” he said. “I am trying my best to keep dreaming. Tomorrow is another day to keep dreaming. To keep playing in front of this amazing crowd and, to me, that means everything.”
Nadal will next face 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka. He said he needs “to find a way to be able to play days in a row and still be competitive.”
“I don’t know if I am in that moment yet,” the 22-time Grand Slam champion said. “Let’s see what can happen tomorrow."
The 37-year-old Nadal is trying to get in shape for next month's French Open. Since his latest injury layoff, he's had two matches in Barcelona and was pessimistic about his physical condition after arriving in Madrid. But he's won three more times in the capital.
Nadal again looked comfortable early on against Cachin. The Argentine rallied in the second but was broken twice while serving for the set before eventually prevailing in the tiebreaker.
Nadal didn’t look as loose in the final set, but did look tired. He wasn't as consistent with his shots but picked up three breaks to seal the victory to the delight of the local crowd in the Caja Magica.
“I took more risks in the third set, but it’s hard after so many months without competing,” Nadal said. “I hadn’t played a match like this in a long time. I don’t know how I’m going to wake up. But I’m already happy for having won three matches in a row.”
Cachin asked for Nadal's shirt after congratulating him at the net, and received the gift moments later.
Top-seeded Jannik Sinner was not at his best but had enough to defeat Pavel Kotov 6-2, 7-5. Sinner, who has been dealing with a hip issue, will face 16th-seeded Karen Khachanov.
“I have been struggling a little bit with my right hip,” Sinner said. “We’re trying to find a solution and I don’t think it’s anything serious. Sometimes I feel it more like today and some days are a little bit better."
Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev was two points from defeat before he rallied to beat Sebastian Korda 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3.
Fifth-seeded Casper Ruud beat Cameron Norrie 6-2, 6-4.

England rugby international Billy Vunipola was sentenced to four months' imprisonment and fined 240 euros ($256.92) for assault and battery after being arrested by police in Mallorca, Spain, following an incident at a pub.

Palma's Examining Court also ordered him to pay 500 euros to a police officer who was injured during the incident following a speedy trial on Sunday.

Under Spanish law, a prison sentence of less than two years does not usually lead to serving any time behind bars unless there are previous criminal records.

According to a report in the Ultima Hora newspaper, Vunipola was tasered twice by police after threatening customers and security personnel and removing his shirt in a bar named Epic in Palma early on Sunday.

The report added that the 31-year-old was handcuffed by the police and taken to the Son Espases hospital in Palma, where he was sedated, before being taken to court on Sunday afternoon.

Vunipola plays for Premiership Rugby club Saracens, who said in a statement that they were aware of the incident and would deal with it "internally".

Vunipola has made 75 appearances for England and was part of the team that finished runners-up in the 2019 World Cup. He was not selected in the England squad for this year's Six Nations.

His brother Mako also played for England until his retirement in January, while his father played for Tonga.

Luis Enrique has managed to rebuild his reputation quickly in his first season at Paris Saint-Germain.

With the French league title already in the bag, PSG now has a chance to win a historic treble of trophies — which would firmly re-establish Enrique as one of the top coaches in Europe after his image was tarnished by an unsuccessful spell with Spain.

PSG wrapped up the French league title with three games to spare this weekend, in one of the most dominant seasons in the league’s history.

The team is on a 26-game unbeaten streak in the league since September. With just one loss in 31 Ligue 1 matches so far, PSG has an unassailable 12-point lead over second-place Monaco.

“I wouldn’t have imagined this scenario going as positively as this,” the 53-year-old Enrique said.

The Spanish coach led Barcelona to nine trophies from 2014 to 2017, including the Champions League title, but his reputation took a big knock during his tenure with Spain's national team. Spain had just one win in four games at the 2022 World Cup and was eliminated by Morocco in the last 16.

Enrique can put that setback firmly behind him if he manages to also lead PSG to an elusive Champions League title, something the Qatari-backed club couldn't even achieve when it had Lionel Messi and Neymar playing alongside Kylian Mbappé, according to The AP.

PSG plays at Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday. It has also reached the French Cup final, where it faces Lyon on May 25.

There is no doubt PSG has made huge progress under Enrique's helm.

PSG also won the French league in the past two seasons, but got knocked out in the last 16 of the French Cup and the Champions League under Christophe Galtier last year, and under Mauricio Pochettino in 2022.

Trophies aside, Enrique showed his leadership skills by successfully navigating the tense relations between Mbappé — who will leave the club at the end of the season — and PSG's Qatari owners.

Enrique started Mbappé on the bench seven times this season, both to manage the France striker’s playing time and to test his options for next season. The strategy has worked well so far as Mbappé still leads the league with 26 goals — nine more than anyone else — and scored twice in the second leg against Barcelona in the Champions League quarterfinals.

TACTICAL MASTER

PSG owes a lot of its success to Enrique’s tactical shrewdness.

Manuel Ugarte started the season as the team's holding midfielder, but Enrique noticed that Vitinha was better at playing the ball out from the back than Ugarte, a ball winner by trade. So Enrique switched from using Vitinha as a box-to-box player to deploying him as a deep-lying playmaker in front of the defense. And Vitinha’s vision and passing skills have helped PSG get more control in midfield.

Likewise, Enrique quickly noticed that Lucas Beraldo struggled in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal against Barcelona as Robert Lewandowski dragged him all over the pitch. Enrique dropped Beraldo in the second leg to let the more experienced Marquinhos and Lucas Hernandez deal with Lewandowski. PSG won 4-1 to reverse a 3-2 home defeat in the first leg and advance.

Enrique was already known for his tactical flexibility at Barcelona, and has shown the same willingness to adapt at PSG by using different formations.

PSG has played with both a back four and a back three this season, and switched from using a lone striker in some games to two strikers in others.

Those variations helped Enrique rotate the team, make tactical experiments and create different kinds of problems for opponents.

“In order to be able to compete for every trophy, as I have said, you need a really big squad of at least 23 players. That is what we need here, and as the season has progressed, we have seen the importance of those players,” Enrique said.

Players’ versatility has been the key to Enrique’s rotation policy.

Marquinhos, Hernandez and Beraldo have been used as both center backs and fullbacks this season. Carlos Soler and Warren Zaire-Emery are midfielders but had to deputize in the right back position.

Lee Kang-in has played as a winger and as a midfielder. And Enrique even used France winger Ousmane Dembele in the No. 10 position a couple of times.

But perhaps Enrique's greatest achievement has been to build team chemistry at a club where star players have often seemed more influential than the coaches in the past.

PSG's repeated failures in the Champions League have usually been due to the fact that the collective performance seemed smaller than the sum of its parts.

By contrast, PSG now looks like a genuine team.

Arsenal survived a late scare at Tottenham to stay narrowly ahead in the race for the Premier League title on Sunday.

The 3-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ensured Mikel Arteta’s team remained at the top of the standings, ahead of defending champion Manchester City, which won 2-0 at Nottingham Forest.

But Arsenal had to endure a nervous finish despite powering to 3-0 lead in a London derby that was supposed to be one of its biggest tests in the title chase.

“The last 20 minutes wasn’t nice, but it was worth it,” Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka said afterward. “We know it is a big derby and they don’t want to lose 3-0 at home. Momentum shifted their way, but I am proud of the boys — we managed to get the three points.”

An own-goal from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and further strikes from Saka and Kai Havertz put Arsenal into a commanding position at the break. But in the face of a potential rout, Tottenham responded in the second half through Cristian Romero and a penalty from Son Heung-min in the 87th minute, The AP reported.

Under pressure, Arsenal held on and remains one point clear at the top, having played a game more than City.

The advantage is still with Pep Guardiola's team, which will clinch a fourth-straight title if it wins its remaining games this season and responded to Arsenal's win with victory of its own at relegation-fighting Forest.

With Liverpool’s title hopes further diminishing after dropping five points in two games this week, it is down to Arsenal to challenge City's domestic dominance.

Having collapsed late on in last season’s title race, Arteta’s players look more capable of going the distance this time around.

An away fixture against its fiercest rival, Tottenham, was a major test of its credentials at this stage of the campaign. And while Arsenal was guilty of letting Spurs back into a game that should have been killed off much earlier, victory when tension was high was a test of character.

“Maybe last season that could have ended in a draw and we showed we have the experience,” Saka said. “We know City are an amazing team, but they are not perfect, we just need to do our job.”

-MAN CITY WINS

Arsenal's win meant the pressure was on City to keep the heat on its title rival.

It was always favorite to beat a Forest team that is desperately fighting for survival but without Phil Foden, who was ill, and Erling Haaland on the bench, Guardiola was without two of its big match-winners in the starting 11.

An injury to goalkeeper Ederson also forced City into a change at halftime.

But Guardiola's team looks to be in unstoppable form and a 2-0 win extended its unbeaten record in the league to 19 games, dating back to a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa at the start of December.

Back then there were questions about City's ability to win a sixth title in seven years. While Arsenal may lead the way, City's title-winning know-how could make the difference.

So could Haaland, who stepped off the bench to score the goal that effectively killed off Forest's challenge.

Josko Gvardiol headed City in front in the first half, but Chris Wood had two clear chances from close range to score for Forest.

Haaland missed City's last two games through injury, but was quickly back on the scoresheet with a clinically taken goal just nine minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Among those in the crowd to watch were his father, Alf-Inge, and rock star Noel Gallagher.

The goal saw Haaland move clear of Cole Palmer as the league's top scorer with 21 goals.

“It's an important win, it does not matter how we do it, and it is good to be back," Haaland said. “We knew it was going to be a fight, and the pitch was not the easiest to play on but we cannot complain, it is about winning and that is exactly what we did.”

- BOURNEMOUTH RECORD

Without a win in its first nine league gamesthis season, Bournemouth is now in the top half of the table and has set its own Premier League points record.

A 3-0 win against Brighton moved Andoni Iraola’s team up to 10th and on 48 points. Bournemouth’s previous best in the top flight was 46 points in the 2016-17 season under former manager Eddie Howe.

Goals from Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert secured victory against a Brighton team that is going in the other direction after six games without a win.

It’s shaping up to be quite the few weeks for German soccer.

The country is preparing to stage the European Championship over June and July, with Germany’s national team taking a nicely timed upturn in form.

Before that, Germany might yet be celebrating having a European champion once again, with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund making up half of the lineup for the Champions League semifinals beginning this week.

The last time Bayern and Dortmund both reached the Champions League semifinals was in 2013 and they went on to meet in the title match at Wembley Stadium, with Bayern winning 2-1. As fate would have it, Wembley will be hosting the final this year, too.

Setting up a repeat of that 2013 final would mean upsetting the odds.

Bayern is up against another European heavyweight in Real Madrid, the record 14-time champion and king of the competition.

Dortmund faces Paris Saint-Germain, whose star striker Kylian Mbappe is looking to lead the French team to its first ever Champions League title in his last season there before a likely move to Madrid, The AP reported.

Germany didn’t have a single semifinalist in each of the last three seasons. In the 2019-20 competition, it had two – Bayern and Leipzig – and Bayern was the eventual champion.

This season, Bayern and Dortmund have mounted impressive European campaigns while underperforming on the domestic front.

Bayern has relinquished its Bundesliga title to Bayer Leverkusen after an 11-year hold on the biggest prize in German soccer, and needs to win the Champions League to avoid a first trophy-less season since 2012.

Dortmund, meanwhile, is in fifth place in the league so its deep run in Europe has come as something of a surprise.

Here’s a closer look at the two games:

- BAYERN MUNICH vs. REAL MADRID (TUESDAY)

Madrid should arrive well rested after the Spanish league moved its game at Real Sociedad to Friday. Madrid won 1-0.

With Madrid set to win Spain’s domestic title, coach Carlo Ancelotti kept Jude Bellingham, Vinícius Júnior, Eduardo Camavinga, Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, Antonio Rudiger and goalkeeper Andriy Lunin on the bench at the start of the league game in San Sebastian. Forward Rodrygo did not travel with the team because of flu.

All started against Manchester City in the second leg of the quarterfinals and are expected to be back in the starting lineup against Bayern.

Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel is leaving at the end of the season, and the Champions League — which he won with Chelsea in 2021 — offers him the chance to go out on a high.

Two months on from Bayern's announcement that Tuchel would depart, he seems more popular than ever among sections of the Bayern support. Part of that is down to the calm, controlled way Bayern knocked out Arsenal in the second leg of their quarterfinal. Partly it's a reaction to Bayern's failure to hire top coaching targets like Bayer Leverkusen's Xabi Alonso or Germany's Julian Nagelsmann.

As Tuchel nears the end of a troubled tenure at Bayern, he's often seemed more upbeat than ever.

“If people want me to stay, it is still an issue that has no priority," Tuchel said Friday when asked about a fan petition begging the club to keep him. "Even if in this case it is a pleasant issue for me."

The injuries that have plagued Bayern this season are easing off, too. Tuchel predicted Friday that Serge Gnabry would recover from his latest problem in time to play — and score — against Madrid on Tuesday, while fellow forward Leroy Sané could also return.

- BORUSSIA DORTMUND vs. PARIS SAINT-GERMAIN (WEDNESDAY)

PSG won another French league title on Sunday — after second-place Monaco lost at Lyon — but the Champions League is the trophy the Qatar-backed club is desperate to finally get its hands on.

And there would be no better way for Kylian Mbappe to sign off at the end of the season than by leading PSG to victory in European club soccer's elite competition.

The club is already planning for life without its superstar striker, who is set to walk away as a free agent, with players like Randal Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele and Goncalo Ramos expected to help fill the void in his absence. But Mbappe could still have a big say in the Champions League and he scored two goals in PSG's 4-1 comeback win against Barcelona in the quarterfinals.

PSG drew 3-3 at home to Le Havre on Saturday after coming back from 3-1 down and needing an equalizer from Ramos in the fifth minute of stoppage time.

It's been a strange season for Dortmund and that was underlined by Saturday's 4-1 loss against top four rival RB Leipzig.

Dortmund has certainly saved its best performances for the Champions League, none better than the comeback win over Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals.

Striker Sebastien Haller scored in the first leg against Atletico but injured his ankle in Dortmund's next game and hasn't played since. Forward Donyell Malen has been struggling with pain, too.

Much could depend on which version of Jadon Sancho turns up to face PSG.

Sancho, who scored against Leipzig, has shown glimpses of his obvious talent since returning to Dortmund in January on loan from Manchester United. The issue is whether the former England forward can consistently play at his best.

“Both I and Jadon have noticed he isn’t at the peak of his performance yet, but that’s totally OK. That’s something we were aware of when we decided to bring him back, but we know that he’s able to reach that maximum very quickly,” Dormund coach Edin Terzic said Friday. “Every training session, Jadon has a moment that shows his incredible talent and we see how hard-working he is with the team.”

Brazil defender Thiago Silva will leave Chelsea at the end of the season after four years at the club.

The 39-year-old Silva made the announcement on Monday, saying he is leaving the door open for a return to Chelsea “in another role.”

“Goodbyes are for those that leave and don’t come back,” he said in a message to Chelsea's fans. “I intend on coming back one day.”

Silva joined Chelsea in 2020 after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain expired. He said he only planned to stay at the English club for one season.

He continued playing for the team after winning the Champions League at the end of his first season there. Now his sons are playing in Chelsea's youth teams, The AP reported.

“It’s a source of great pride to be a part of the Chelsea family — literally because my sons are here,” Silva said. “I hope they can continue their careers here at this victorious club that many players wish to be part of.”

Chelsea has five league games left this season but is languishing in ninth place after an inconsistent campaign under first-year coach Mauricio Pochettino.

Arsenal survived a late scare at Tottenham to stay ahead in the race for the Premier League title on Sunday.

A 3-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ensured Mikel Arteta's team will remain at the top of the standings after the latest round of fixtures and keep the pressure on defending champion Manchester City, which played at Nottingham Forest later Sunday.

But Arsenal had to endure a nervous finish despite powering to 3-0 lead in a London derby that was supposed to be one of its biggest tests in the title chase.

Tottenham responded in the second half through Cristian Romero and Son Heung-min's penalty in the 87th minute.

Under pressure, Arsenal held on to extend its lead over second-place City to four points. After the match against Forest, City will still have a game in hand.

Arsenal took the lead against Spurs through Pierre-Emile Hojberg's own-goal in the 15th. Bukayo Saka added a second in the 27th and Kai Havertz made it 3-0 at the break with another in the 38th.

Romero capitalized on Arsenal goalkeeper David Raya's errant kick in the 64th to set up a potential comeback.

Bournemouth beat Brighton 3-0 after goals from Marcos Senesi, Enes Unal and Justin Kluivert.

Harry Kane has his eyes set on Robert Lewandowski's record for most Bundesliga goals in a season after scoring twice in a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, but the England striker acknowledges he needs "to get a move on".

Kane scored on either side of half-time on Saturday to take his tally to 42 goals this season across all competitions, while also putting him over the 400-goal mark at senior level for clubs and country.

The 30-year-old has netted 35 goals in 31 Bundesliga appearances this season, six short of Lewandowski's 41 in the 2020-21 season.

Asked about the possibility of breaking the record with three games left to play in Bayern's league campaign, Kane said: "It's possible, but obviously I have to get a move on.

"I've got to maybe score a few goals next week. It's there, it's in touching distance. It depends on the last few games of course. But it was nice to add to it today and score a couple of goals to help the team."

Bayern next host Real Madrid in the first leg of a Champions League semi-final tie on Tuesday, before travelling to face VfB Stuttgart on Saturday.

Manchester United's young players need time to adapt to the intensity of the Premier League, manager Erik ten Hag said after his decision to substitute Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Hojlund during a 1-1 home draw with Burnley was met with jeers from fans.

Antony broke the deadlock in the 79th minute of Sunday's game to put United ahead, before Burnley substitute Zeki Amdouni scored a late penalty to rescue a point for the relegation-threatened side.

Mainoo and Hojlund were taken off in the 65th minute with the score at 0-0, with Ten Hag saying he substituted the pair to avoid risking an injury.

"It was the right decision and totally logical to bring off very young players who are in their first year of the Premier League and feel some fatigue," the Dutchman told reporters.

"We have some very young players and that's why we built this club back. That takes time, and we build this by bringing in young players. Hojlund, (Alejandro) Garnacho, Mainoo - they are all in the first season of the Premier League and the league gets more intense year by year.

"I am very impatient but there we need patience and fans they need patience. We built here a team, and they need experience."

Ten Hag said United's current struggles mirrored those of the team in the mid 2000s, when they finished third in the 2003-04 and 2004-05 seasons before winning the Premier League three straight times between 2006-09.

"The great Manchester United team, we forget they were also built. I have seen I think in 2004-05 they also didn't play that great football," Ten Hag said.

"They were building, and it takes time, but everyone forgets, even the players who were by that time in the team, they forget they were struggling and that they needed time to progress."

United, who are sixth in the standings, next travel to face 14th-placed Crystal Palace on May 6.

Lionel Messi continued his rich vein of scoring in MLS, finding the target twice as league leaders Inter Miami came from behind for a 4-1 win at the New England Revolution on Saturday.
With his brace Messi, the top scorer in MLS, took his tally to nine goals from seven appearances this season, AFP said.
A crowd over 65,612 turned up at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, the stadium the Revolution share with the NFL's New England Patriots, to see the Argentine World Cup winner.
New England, who had been hit by a virus in the build-up to the game and bottom of the Eastern Conference, delighted the bumper home crowd after just 40 seconds through an Argentine of their own -- Tomas Chancalay.
Miami defender Nicolas Freire gave the ball away to Spanish midfielder Carles Gil who clipped a ball over the top to Chancalay, who spotted Drake Callender well off his line and chipped it over the stranded Miami keeper for the opening goal.
Messi got Miami back on level terms in the 32nd minute when he was found by Robert Taylor's through pass and the 36-year-old made no mistake, slotting home.
The eight-times Ballon d'Or winner struck again to put Miami ahead in the 68th minute when he collected a superb defence-splitting pass from his former Barcelona team-mate Sergio Busquets and finished with his usual ease.
Miami added two more in the final stages -- both created by Messi.
Substitute Benjamin Cremaschi made it 3-1 in the 83rd minute, pouncing after a Messi shot was parried out. Luis Suarez completed the scoring, finding the top corner after a pass inside from Messi.
Miami have won three straight games since their exit from the CONCACAF Champions Cup at the hands of Mexican club Monterrey with Messi scoring five times in that run which includes wins at Kansas City and at home to Nashville.
Coach Gerardo Martino said the team were starting to come together as he had hoped.
"The Kansas City game was a key for us, because we had just been eliminated by Monterrey and the team showed their character. Now we have three wins in a row and it is getting more solid every time," he said.
Martino said the rest of his players had now got used to playing in front of the large crowds that Messi is drawing.
"We've handled it well. That was a learning curve last season and now we are dealing with it well," he added.
New England coach Caleb Porter said he was disappointed that his defenders had allowed Messi the space for his goals but said the Argentine had shown his class in making them pay.
'That's Messi'
"You have to look at both those moments because I thought they were able to find two goals when we felt pretty good about the way we were limiting their effectiveness in creating clear chances," he said.
"But you know, that's Messi, he finds two goals out of nowhere and it exposes the detail in those moments from us.
"I don't think he had a ton of touches and effectiveness early in the game but, you know, that's kind of him -- he lulls you....we can't allow a ball to be popped through the back four and find him twice," he added.
Elsewhere, Christian Benteke scored twice for D.C. United as they enjoyed a 2-1 win at home to the Seattle Sounders.
The Sounders led 1-0 through a Leo Chu goal but had goalkeeper Stefan Frei sent off in the 28th minute after he brought down Jared Stroud in the box,
Benteke put away the penalty and then won the game with a trademark header at the back post on the stroke of half-time.
Real Salt Lake take over at the top of the Western Conference after handing the Philadelphia Union their first loss of the season with a 2-1 win in Pennsylvania.
RSL move above the Los Angeles Galaxy who fell to a 2-0 defeat at Austin while defending MLS champions Columbus Crew were held to a goalless draw at home to Montreal.
Crew coach Wilfried Nancy rotated his line-up ahead of Wednesday's CONCACAF Champions Cup semi-final second leg at Monterrey.