Rafael Nadal will enter the last 16 of the Italian Open with fresh legs following his victory over Nicolas Almagro on Wednesday.Nadal raced into a 3-0 lead in the opening set when his Spanish opponent retired with a knee injury.The 14-time Grand Slam winner extended his winning streak to 16 matches and is in the form of his life right now.Nadal, 30, is the favourite to win in Italy, his chances boosted by Andy Murray’s surprise exit on Tuesday, and nobody will want to draw him in the upcoming French Open.The second Grand Slam of the year gets underway on May 28 and while Nadal is peaking at the right time, Murray is seriously struggling.The world No.1 has lost seven times in 2017 already, his latest a disappointing 6-2 6-4 defeat to Fabio Fognini."The last couple of weeks have definitely been a struggle and a long way from where I'd like to be,” the Scot said following his latest setback, per BBC Sport. “There is no reason for it from my end.
"Movement the last two weeks has not been good. My movement has been a big help, the last couple of years, but certainly the last couple of weeks, that's been a problem."
Nadal is on fire
What Murray would give to be playing like Nadal is right now.
The Spaniard has won three titles in a row and nobody will be surprised if he makes it a fourth in Italy.
The crowd didn’t see much of Nadal’s skills on Wednesday, but they did see a lovely gesture from the star.
When Almagro began to feel his knee injury, Nadal approached him to check he was okay.
He then walked with his compatriot as Almagro began walking back to his chair. Nadal also clapped his opponent as he exited the court.
Check out the videos below.
Watch: Nadal checks Almagro is okay
Watch: Nadal claps Almagro off
Twitter reacts
Fans on Twitter loved Nadal's gesture.