Rafael Nadal makes special request to Madrid Open organisers ahead of UCL semifinal match

In a key development guaranteeing delight to Tennis fans, ace player Rafael Nadal is making his comeback from injury by playing in the ongoing Madrid Masters tournament. This will be his first tournament since the loss to Taylor Fritz at the Indian Wells final in mid-March. However, before the former world, no 1 takes the court at Madrid Open he has made a special request to the organisers.

Madrid Open: Rafael Nadal wants a change in match timings

According to express.co.uk, Rafael Nadal has made a request to Madrid Open director Feliciano Lopez to schedule his Round of 32 match early on Wednesday. The report states that Rafael Nadal made the request in order to attend Manchester City vs Real Madrid UCL semifinal match at the Santiago Bernabeu on the same night. Real Madrid is currently trailing Manchester City 3-4 after the first leg at Etihad Stadium. The La Liga champions would want to win the match on the home turf. The Australian Open Champion is a Real Madrid fan and was seen recently during the Real Madrid match against Espanyol which the La Liga champions won 4-0. He stayed in the box seats to watch the game unfold.

Feliciano Lopez, who is the director of the Madrid Masters confirmed his request after he himself admitted he would love to go to the Manchester City vs Real Madrid Champions League tie. The report states that Rafael Nadal also plans to watch the match. He said, "It has been a long time since I've been to the Bernabeu and it is a game I'd like to go to. Let's see if I can escape to see the game against Manchester City,". He further said, Rafael Nadal wants to play during the day in Madrid so that the ball bounces higher, but with the semi-final he joked about not playing at night."

All you need to know about Madrid Open

Rafel Nadal is set to face either Miomir Kecmanovic in his first match at the Madrid Open after receiving bye in the opening round. Nadal has won the competition five times in the past, with his last triumph coming in 2017 with a 7-6, 6-4 win over Austrian star Dominic Thiem. APart from Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Alexander Zverev and Spanish teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz are all taking part in the competition.