Madrid masters: Rafael Nadal wins fourth title

Rafael Nadal won his fourth Madrid Open title yesterday after Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw with an injury when tailing 2-6, 6-4, 3-0 in the final.

Nishikori’s powerful groundstrokes helped him win the first set against the world No 1, who couldn’t find a way to counter his Japanese opponent.

But Nadal slowly clawed back into the match and broke twice in the second set to draw level.

In the third set, Nishikori was in obvious discomfort and received treatment on his lower back during a medical time-out before eventually retiring.

Maria Sharapova recovered from a poor start to beat Simona Halep 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 to win the women’s title.