Tennis news today: Rafael Nadal meets up with Maluma, Andy Murray stages a comeback to reach the quarterfinals at the Hall of Fame Open | 14 July 2022
Rafael Nadal is continuing to enjoy his time off from the tour after suffering an abdominal tear at Wimbledon. He attended pop star Maluma's concert on Wednesday and spent some time with the singer as well. Andy Murray needed to dig deep as he trailed by a set and a break, but eventually overcame Max Purcell to reach the last eight at the Hall of Fame Open.
Defending champion Casper Ruud lost in the second round of the Swedish Open, while Barbora Krejcikova was knocked out in the first round in Budapest. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek has commenced training for her next tournament following a short break. Here's a round-up of the day's news.
Rafael Nadal links up with pop star Maluma
22-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal attended Colombian superstar Maluma's concert in Spain on Wednesday evening with his friends. Nadal seemed to have had a great time and even met the singer backstage.
"Gran noche con amigos! @maluma crack total!mil gracias por todo! (Great night with friends! @maluma total crack! A thousand thanks for everything!)"
Nadal's upcoming schedule isn't set in stone, though he's on the entry list for the Canadian Open next month.
Andy Murray stages a fightback to reach the quarterfinals at the Hall of Fame Open
Andy Murray looked down and out in his second-round match against Max Purcell at the Hall of Fame Open. The Australian, who won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon, led by a set and a break.
However, Murray stepped up his game considerably after that, winning 12 of the next 13 games to win the match 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. He'll take on third seed Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Casper Ruud's title defense ends early at the Swedish Open
After a first-round bye, Casper Ruud was up against Francisco Cerundolo in the second round of the Swedish Open. The defending champion lost the opening set, but fought back to take the second. He trailed 4-2 in the deciding set, but once again dug deep to level the score, breaking back immediately.
Serving to stay in the match at 6-5, the pressure got to Ruud as Cerundolo broke his serve for the final time to win 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. The Norwegian will compete at the Swiss Open in Gstaad next week, where he's the defending champion as well.
Barbora Krejcikova loses in the first round of the Hungarian Open
2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova won the women's doubles title at Wimbledon on Sunday. But her joy was short-lived. The Czech rushed over to Budapest to compete in the Hungarian Open, but lost 6-1, 7-6 (1) to Xiyu Wang in the first round.
With just a couple of days to rest and making the transition from grass to clay, a loss was predictable to an extent. However, Krejcikova will be aiming for a better performance at next week's Hamburg Open.
Iga Swiatek gears up for second half of the season
A third-round loss to Alize Cornet snapped Iga Swiatek's 37 match winning streak. Following a short vacation in Italy, the World No. 1 has resumed training for her upcoming tournaments. She recently shared a snippet of her workout in the gym.
"💪🏼Back at it! #jazda"
Swiatek will headline the Poland Open in Warsaw from July 25-31. Caroline Garcia, Sara Sorribes Tormo and Yulia Putintseva are some of the other players participating in the tournament.