Nadal gets emotional after a loss in his last Madrid Open appearance. Alcaraz reaches quarterfinals

MADRID (AP) — Rafael Nadal had to pause for a few moments, visibly emotional, while addressing the crowd after his loss in the fourth round at the Madrid Open.

As chants of “Rafa, Rafa, Rafa” echoed around, the five-time champion in Madrid made a farewell speech following a 7-5, 6-4 loss Tuesday to the 31st-ranked Jiri Lehecka.

It was likely his last official match at the tournament in the Spanish capital.

“This is a difficult day when it arrives, but it's a reality. My body and my life had been sending me signs for some time," Nadal said. “I was able to say goodbye playing on this court, one of the most emotional ones for me. Madrid at times has been more important to me than a Grand Slam. The memories here will stay with me forever.”

After the match, tournament organizers unfurled five banners for each of Nadal’s titles in Madrid — 2005, ‘10, ’13, ‘14 and ’17. They also showed a video of his highlights, as his wife and sister shed tears in the stands.

“It's been a gift what you've done for me during the 21 years that I've played here,” said the 37-year-old Nadal, a winner of 22 Grand Slam singles titles. “All I can say is ‘thank you.’”

Nadal had not lost to a player ranked outside the top 20 on clay since falling to Pablo Cuevas in 2016 at Rio de Janeiro. He was seeking his 60th win in Madrid and the 100th ATP 1000 quarterfinal of his career.

Earlier, the player who Spanish fans hope will take over Nadal's reign, Carlos Alcaraz, needed nearly three hours to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4).

Both Spaniards are coming off injuries and are trying to get back in shape ahead of next month's French Open. The 20-year-old Alcaraz missed tournaments in Monte Carlo and Barcelona. Nadal was coming off two matches in Barcelona after not playing competitively in nearly three months.

He arrived in Madrid saying he wasn't fully fit and was worried about his condition, but in the end he won three consecutive matches without showing significant physical limitations.

“Just two days before I left for Barcelona I really didn't know if I was going to be able to play again in an official match," Nadal said, "and in the end I've played two weeks.”

The second-seeded Alcaraz was coming off two comfortable victories in Madrid but struggled on Tuesday. He squandered four match points against the 24th-ranked Struff while serving at 5-3 but converted on his first opportunity in the deciding tiebreaker at the Caja Magica center court.

“I wasn’t at my best physically toward the end of the match, but I’m happy that in the end I found my game,” Alcaraz said. “I fought for every ball and didn’t let down despite some difficult moments when things didn’t go my way.”

Alcaraz is trying to become the first player to win three straight Madrid Open titles. He also needed three sets to beat Struff in last year's final. The world No. 3 will next face seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev at the clay-court tournament.

Top-seeded Jannick Sinner defeated 16th-seeded Karen Khachanov 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the Madrid quarterfinals for the first time. He is the only player to make it to the quarterfinals at all four ATP 1000 events this season.

“I made a couple of mistakes in the first set when he broke me, but this can happen," Sinner said. "In the second set I tried to stay focused. Immediately, I broke him, and the confidence level raised a bit."

SWIATEK RALLIES

Top-ranked Iga Swiatek rallied for a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 win over Beatriz Haddad Maia to reach the semifinals for a second straight year.

After letting a 4-1 lead slip to drop the first set, Swiatek regained control in the second and third sets.

She will next face 18th-seeded American Madison Keys, who overcame eighth-seeded Ons Jabeur 0-6, 7-5, 6-1 after losing the first eight games of the match.

The Madrid Open is the only high-profile European clay tournament that Swiatek is yet to win.

MEDVEDEV ADVANCES

Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev was given the run around by Alexander Bublik before winning 7-6 (3), 6-4 to advance into a match against Lehecka.

“A lot of drop shots, and I got so tired in the end running for them,” Medvedev said. “That's when you lose your concentration and you start to play a bit worse. But after the match he told me he was dead also. So, good for me, at least I was not the only one.”

World No. 8 Rublev advanced 6-2, 6-4 over Tallon Griekspoor and No. 22 Francisco Cerundolo upset two-time champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4 to set up a meeting with Taylor Fritz, a 7-6 (2), 6-4 winner over Hubert Hurkacz.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Jiri Lehecka, of Czech Republic, returns a ball to Rafael Nadal of Spain, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Jiri Lehecka, of Czech Republic, competes against Rafael Nadal of Spain, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Rafael Nadal, of Spain, returns the ball to Jiri Lehecka, of Czech Republic, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Jan-Lennard Struff, of Germany, returns a ball to Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, celebrates against Jan-Lennard Struff, of Germany, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, returns the ball to Jan-Lennard Struff, of Germany, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, returns the ball to Jan-Lennard Struff, of Germany, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, celebrates against Jan-Lennard Struff, of Germany, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Rafael Nadal, of Spain, reacts during a match against Jiri Lehecka, of Czech Republic, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Borna Coric, of Croatia, competes against Alexander Zverev, of Germany, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Borna Coric, of Croatia, celebrates a point against Alexander Zverev, of Germany, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Friday, April 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Alexander Zverev, of Germany, returns the ball to Francisco Cerundolo, of Argentina, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

On the left, Alexander Zverev, of Germany, shakes hands with Francisco Cerundolo, of Argentina, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Beatriz Haddad Maia, of Brazil, reacts during a match against Iga Swiatek, of Poland, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul White)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, returns the ball to Beatriz Haddad Maia, of Brazil, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul White)

Iga Swiatek, of Poland, celebrates against Beatriz Haddad Maia, of Brazil, during the Mutua Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul White)

PRISTINA, Kosovo (AP) — The European Union on Tuesday reprimanded Kosovo over the unilateral closure of six branches of a Serbia-licensed bank, saying the move would negatively impact the life of the ethnic Serb minority living in northern Kosovo and damage Kosovo-Serbia normalization talks.

On Monday, Kosovo police closed the branches of the Postal Saving Bank in line with the decision to ban the use of the Serbian dinar currency in the country.

Starting on Feb. 1, the government required areas dominated by the ethnic Serb minority in Kosovo to adopt the euro currency, which is used in the rest of the country, and abolished the use of the Serbian dinar.

Pristina postponed the move for about three months, following pressure from the EU and the United States, concerned that the decision would negatively impact the ethnic Serb minority in northern Kosovo.

An EU statement from Brussels, which was emailed to The Associated Press, considered the move as “escalatory … against the spirit of normalization,” adding that such “uncoordinated actions" by Kosovo put chances of reconciliation “at risk.”

The State Department also was “disappointed” with Kosovo’s lack of coordination with international partners for the move, fearing it would escalate tensions.

“The United States reiterates its clear concerns about the implementation of the amended Central Bank of Kosovo regulation that restricts the import and use of the Serbian dinar in Kosovo,” said a statement.

The British embassy in Pristina also warned that the move would “risk escalating tensions and making a long-term solution to the currency issue in Kosovo more difficult.”

Brussels and Washington are pressing both countries to implement agreements that Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić and Kosovo Prime Minister Albin Kurti reached in February and March last year.

The EU-facilitated normalization talks have failed to make progress, especially following a shootout last September between masked Serb gunmen and Kosovo police that left four people dead and ratcheted up tensions.

Most of Kosovo uses the euro, even though the country isn’t part of the EU. Parts of Kosovo’s north, populated mostly by ethnic Serbs, continue to use the dinar. Many Serbs there rely on the government of Serbia for financial support, often delivered in dinars in cash.

“In the continued absence of sustainable alternatives, this will have negative effects on the daily lives and living conditions of Kosovo Serbs and other communities eligible for financial transfers from Serbia,” the EU statement said.

Serbia's and Kosovo's chances of joining the EU one day are jeopardized by their refusal to compromise, according to the bloc’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell.

The EU again urged Kosovo and Serbia to return to the negotiating table.

Serbian forces fought a 1998-99 war with ethnic Albanian separatists in what was then the province of Kosovo. About 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians, died until a 78-day NATO bombing campaign pushed Serbian forces away. Kosovo declared independence in 2008, which Belgrade doesn’t recognize.

FILE - A man withdraws Serbian Dinars from a bank cash machine in northern Serb-dominated part of ethnically divided town of Mitrovica, Kosovo, on Jan. 31, 2024. The European Union on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, reprimanded Kosovo over the unilateral closure of six branches of a Serbia-licensed bank, saying the move would negatively impact the life of the ethnic Serb minority living in northern Kosovo and damage Kosovo-Serbia normalization talks. (AP Photo/Bojan Slavkovic)