ROME: Rafael Nadal said Saturday that he is leaning toward playing at the French Open despite his second-round elimination in Rome, as Novak Djokovic laughed off being hit by a bottle which briefly cast doubt on his continued participation.

Clay-court icon Nadal had previously said that he would only play at the French Open, where he has won a record 14 titles, if he feels competitive after a raft of injury problems over the last two years which have left him languishing 305th in the world rankings.

And the manner of his elimination in his first ever encounter with Hubert Hurkacz — winner in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 — seemed a step backwards after reaching the last 16 in Madrid, leaving a question mark hanging over his plans.

“The decision, as you can imagine, is not clear in my mind today. But if I have to say what’s my feeling and if my mind is closer one way or the other way, I am going to say to be in Roland Garros and try my best,” Nadal told reporters.

“Physically I have some issues, but not probably yet enough to say I’m not playing in the most important event of my tennis career. Let’s see what’s going on, how I feel myself mentally tomorrow, after tomorrow, and in one week.”

Nadal held his own in the first two games in the first set, which took 26 minutes to complete, but then quickly fell away, Hurkacz winning without dropping a service game and seemingly without breaking a sweat.

That level of dominance over Nadal on clay, much less a court where he has won a record 10 titles, would have been unimaginable a few short years ago.

Hurkacz will face Tomas Etcheverry in the third round after likely ending Nadal’s love affair with Rome as the 22-time Grand Slam winner said that he was “98 percent” sure that he would never again grace the Roman clay.

“No-one will ever have a record like him on this surface. He’s just bigger than the sport at the end of the day,” said Hurkacz.

Second seed Daniil Medvedev kicked off his title defense by beating Jack Draper in straight sets 7-5, 6-4 to set up a third-round clash with qualifier Hamad Medjedovic, while Stefanos Tsitsipas came back from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7 (1/7), 6-4, 6-4.

World No. 1 Djokovic donned a cycling crash helmet on his way to practice to show that he was fit and ready to face Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo on Sunday afternoon.

Djokovic was left crouching in agony after being accidentally hit on the head by a hard water bottle while signing fan autographs on Friday night.

But he suffered only minor injuries, and on Saturday he joked “Today I came prepared” with a video of him arriving while wearing the helmet.

Iga Swiatek, Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff all reached the last 16 as the women’s tournament begins to heat up.

Osaka is ranked at 173 in the world after taking a break from the tour to have her first child but is in good form, yet to drop a set after beating 10th-seeded Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-3.

“I’m very grateful to be healthy because I know how much hard work it took for me to be here,” said four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka, who will next play seventh-seed Zheng Qinwen.

“I feel like I’m just clawing my way back to hopefully where I think I belong.”

World No. 1 Swiatek will next face Angelique Kerber after seeing off Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-4 as she bids to become the first woman since Serena Williams to claim a third Rome title.

The 22-year-old came into the event having won the Madrid Open last weekend and will also be gunning for a fourth French Open crown later this month.

Third seed Gauff, meanwhile, has Spain’s Paula Badosa in the last 16 after the US Open champion battled to a 6-1, 0-6, 6-3 victory over Jaqueline Cristian.

BARCELONA, Spain: Real Madrid’s backups eased to 4-0 win at the relegated Granada on Saturday as Carlo Ancelotti rested most of his top players to avoid costly injures before the Champions League final.

Defender Antonio Rudiger was the only first-choice player who Ancelotti started for a Spanish league game that was inconsequential for either side.

Madrid clinched their 36th Spanish league title last weekend. They are now fully focused on the European final against Borussia Dortmund on June 1 in London after eliminating Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

Granada didn’t have much to play for either after Mallorca’s 1-0 win at Las Palmas meant the team from southern Spain was relegated. Granada are in 19th place and join bottom side Almeria in going to the second division. Cadiz are in danger of becoming the third team to drop.

Little used left back Fran Garcia scored and assisted Turkish teenager Arda Guler in the first half. Brahim Diaz made his case for some playing time in the title game against Dortmund after the creative forward scored two second-half goals.

Thibaut Courtois was back in goal for his second appearance of the season after he recovered from an ACL tear and a knee injury. Ancelotti said on Friday he has yet to decide if Courtois or Andriy Lunin, who has played most of the season, will be his pick against Dortmund.

Luka Modric and Eduardo Camavinga, players with real chances to see minutes in the Champions League final, also started.

“My goal is to arrive to the final with the entire team in peak form, and I think we will do that,” Ancelotti said.

Ancelotti and Madrid players will celebrate their league title with supporters in central Madrid on Sunday.

Atheletic held

Fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao needed an added-time goal against visiting Osasuna to salvage a 2-2 draw, dropping points in their fight for a top-four finish and Champions League berth.

The Copa del Rey champions were five points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid before they host Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Asier Villalibre equalized for Athletic on one of the last kicks of the game when Osasuna goakeeper Sergio Herrera spilled a cross after colliding with a teammate.

Sorloth double

Alexander Sorloth scored his second goal with a stoppage-time header to snatch Villarreal a 3-2 comeback win over Sevilla.

The victory kept alive Villarreal’s chances of catching Real Betis in seventh place and the Europa Conference League spot.