Roger Federer played his first clay-court match in nearly three years on Tuesday at the Mutua Madrid Open. The fourth seed routed France’s Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-3 for his 18^th victory in their 20-match FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

But did Federer, who skipped the clay-court season the past two years, truly miss playing and sliding on the red dirt? Well, it’s complicated. On the one hand, no.

“Look, not too much, to be quite honest with you. I’d love to tell you, I miss it so much,” Federer said.

But on the other hand, yes. “I missed it in ’16 because I was in Paris. I was really trying everything to get in shape and that was a very frustrating period for me.

“When I came here I had to pull out because my knee was swollen and I played Rome because I had a bad back and a bad knee because I broke my back here on top of all things, so that’s maybe when I missed playing [Roland Garros] the most,” Federer said.

The next year, in 2017, Federer skipped the entire clay-court season for the first time. The prior season, he had missed the last five months of the year to give his knee more time to recuperate.

“It was a decision for my longevity, for my health, for my family,” Federer said. “Last year, I just felt like, you know what, it worked so well in ’17, let’s do the same thing again in ’18. And I didn’t really miss it because I was enjoying myself at home and having a good time and again, looking at the longevity.”

But, Federer said, if he hadn’t played on clay this year, he would have been full of regrets.

“If I would have skipped the clay again, I think I would have felt like that’s not the right decision. I would have always felt regrets not being on the clay in 2019 because my knee problem is far enough away now because that was still playing a little bit part of our decision in ’17, to be quite honest, not from my side but more from the team,” he said.

“So it feels good to be back on the clay now, and I enjoy it to be honest. Some of these rallies where you get pushed to the side, you slide, you hit the ball, you slide, you hit the ball, you come back into it, then you can defend in a different manner than you do on the hard courts, or on the grass.”

The 37-year-old Swiss will face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics or France’s Gael Monfils in the third round, but the fourth seed also would welcome a 39^th FedEx ATP Head2Head matchup with Nadal. The Spaniard leads their rivalry 23-15, including 13-2 on clay.

Asked if he’d like to play Nadal, the second seed, in the final, Federer said: “Yeah, that means I’m in the final. And I didn’t have many chances to beat him the last three years on clay, so years go by quickly,” Federer said.

The two have met three times in Madrid. Nadal won two of them, but Federer’s victory came in the 2009 final, a 6-4, 6-4 win.

“I remember back to the final here in Madrid as one of my good matches on clay, no doubt about it. I think he was pretty tired as well. I played solid. Of course, I would love to play on clay against him again, even though I know it’s a tough challenge and all that,” Federer said.

“But again it would be nice to have played him at the beginning of his career on clay and also at the very end and see how it all plays out. And if I said I don’t want to play him on clay, I think then I would have made a mistake to be on the clay in the first place because he is the measuring stick for all us players.”

Grigor Dimitrov announced Tuesday that he has parted ways with coach Dani Vallverdu, whom he has worked with since July 2016.

Dimitrov wrote in a statement on Twitter: “After my match yesterday Dani Vallverdu my long time coach and I sat down together. After three great years, we will be going our separate ways. We had some career highlights and amazing moments on court. I want to thank Dani for everything he has done for me and I wish him nothing but the best in his next endeavors.”

Vallverdu helped guide Dimitrov to a career-best season in 2017, highlighted by triumph at the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals, the ATP Masters 1000 title at the Western & Southern Open and a career-high No. 3 ATP Ranking.

Dimitrov struggled to maintain his momentum in 2018, with his best result a runner-up finish in Rotterdam. The 27-year-old Bulgarian entered Madrid at No. 46 in the ATP Rankings, and is in danger of falling outside the Top 50 for the first time since 2012. He lost to Taylor Fritz in his opening match on Monday to drop to a 9-6 season record.

pic.twitter.com/FKzimMLkzg

— Grigor Dimitrov (@GrigorDimitrov) May 7, 2019

Five-time champion Rafael Nadal isn’t one to take opponents lightly, and he’ll be prepared with eyes wide open when he meets #NextGenATP Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime on Wednesday in the Spanish capital.

The two have never met, but Nadal knows well what #NextGenATP Canadians can pull off at ATP Masters 1000 events. The Spaniard fell victim to then 18-year-old Denis Shapovalov at the 2017 Coupe Rogers in Montreal.

“[Felix] is a complicated opponent. He’s young. He’s played a couple of matches on clay this year already so he’s going to be a difficult opponent. So, at the end, for him here, everything is more even, due to the altitude, the conditions,” Nadal said.

The 18-year-old Auger-Aliassime reached the Rio Open presented by Claro final in February (l. to Djere) and beat Shapovalov to reach the second round in Madrid.

“I have to be fit. I have to be with a positive attitude, and hopefully my physical side will be there and then I will have to play tennis. If I play my tennis well, I’ll have possibilities and that is what I’m doing right now, what I’m trying to do,” Nadal said.

The second-seeded Nadal is seeking his first title of the season, after reaching the semi-finals at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell before losing to eventual champions Fabio Fognini and Dominic Thiem, respectively. The last time Nadal came into Madrid without winning Monte-Carlo or Barcelona was 2015.

“I would have liked to come here with four titles on clay in my bag, but no more pressure on my shoulders,” Nadal said. “Physically talking, well I try to do my best, look at the positive things, go step by step, look at the positive side of everything.

“[Barcelona] was a positive improvement for me and from thereon the trainings, I have been feeling better than the week in Barcelona and I think I’m on the right path. Whatever might happen tomorrow, we will see.”

The Spaniard had a stomach virus on Sunday but has been practising for at least 90 minutes.

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“Despite the stomach problems in the last days, I think that I’m more confident, I have more confidence in my body and I think I’m building up my game with more confidence and I’m feeling much better than two weeks ago when we started Monte-Carlo, so that has been a really good improvement for me,” Nadal said. “I’m again enjoying training and I enjoy playing each day and this is a very important step for me.”

Nadal’s home capital might be the place for a turnaround. He is 36-6 since the tournament moved to clay in 2009. “It is one of the most important tournaments in the world and is played in our country,” he said.

Third seed Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares set up a second-round clash with the new pairing of Juan Martin del Potro and Kei Nishikori at the Mutua Madrid Open after dismissing Radu Albot and Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-0, 6-4 on Tuesday. Murray and Soares recently reached the final at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (l. to Cabal/Farah).

Henri Kontinen and John Peers held on to defeat Australian wild cards Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic 6-2, 6-4 in the night match on Court Manolo Santana. Kyrgios and Tomic had a chance to extend the match with four break points in the final game, but were unable to capitalise against the No. 8 seeds.

Nikola Mektic claimed his first ATP Masters 1000 title last year with Alexander Peya in Madrid, and continued his winning ways as he teamed up with Franko Skugor on Tuesday. The Croatians led Marcel Granollers and Marc Lopez 7-6(4) before the Spaniards retired from the match.

Mektic and Skugor won the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title three weeks ago, and will continue their chase for a second straight ATP Masters 1000 title when they next face Wesley Koolhof and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Dutch-Greek duo advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Marco Cecchinato and Marton Fucsovics.

Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic, who finished at No. 1 in the ATP Doubles Team Rankings in 2018, closed out a 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 win over Ivan Dodig and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Meanwhile, Robin Haase and Raven Klaasen prevailed against brothers Alexander Zverev and Mischa Zverev 7-6(6), 7-6(5)