Dream on: Rafael Nadal is ecstatic after his epic victory against Cachin at the Madrid Open

In an effort to reaffirm his dominance in the tennis world, Rafael Nadal said that he plans to “keep dreaming” and go one step at a time. In the Madrid Open Round of 32 on Monday, April 29, Rafael Nadal defeated Pedro Cachin of Argentina in an incredible match. The match ended with the veteran winning 6-1, 6-7(5), and 6-4 at the Manolo Santana Stadium after a valiant 3 hours and 4 minutes of fighting.

The 22-time Grand Slam champion will next play Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic in the pre-quarterfinals on Tuesday, April 30. Although the 23-year-old Nadal acknowledged that it was an honor to play in front of his home audience, he isn’t ready to look too far forward just yet.

In his admission, Nadal had several highs and lows while facing Cachin. In the first set, Nadal dominated and seemed like he was ready to end the contest quickly. But Cachin managed to hold on in the second set tiebreaker and win the match in the decisive set. Nadal did not turn around after taking an early break in the third set.

Nadal said that his unpredictability on the tennis court gave him the upper hand over his Argentine opponent.

“There were some positive moments. There are bad times. I managed to go through. Despite a few errors, I was able to be a little more erratic in the third set. That altered the game,” Nadal continued.