Rafael Nadal looked sharp in his Madrid opener today at the Magic Box.

Notes: Insane field with two former No. 1s and an additional Slam champ all unseeded…The Top 3 seeds are current or former No. 1s…Tough opening-round matches are (5) Na vs. Tamira Paszek then the winner of Venus and (WC) Medina Garrigues, (3) Azarenka vs. Pavlyuchenkova, (11) Petrova vs. a qualifier then likely Kuznetsova, (16) Ivanovic vs. a qualifier then likely her Serb countrywoman Jankovic, (9) Stosur vs. the clay-savvy Suarez Navarro, and (2) Sharapova vs. a qualifier then likely Peng…No blue clay this year…Former champs in the field are Serena Williams (2012) and Kvitova (2011).

“She’s amazing. We were joking that she’s like a soldier,” Vesnina said of Makarova. “She has a bleeding knee and she won such an amazing match — one of the most emotional matches she has won. And then in the doubles, she was feeling tired, but she’s a great fighter.”

Rafael Nadal looked good, not great, in his hardcourt debut while the American youngsters crashed out.

Rafael Nadal makes his return to hardcourts Saturday at Indian Wells while Roger Federer opens his title defense.

An Italian leads the French field as Errani heads the seeds, with the only French seed Bartoli at No. 3; Kvitova tries to turn around her horrendous start ot the season; (8) Zakopalova a tough start against the hot-handed Medina Garrigues; wildcards went to Kvitova, Safarova, and France’s Kristina Mladenovic and Pauline Parmentier; pulling from the field with injury were Kaia Kanepi and Venus Williams (back); Errani after a bye will start against a qualifier; Kvitova (2011) is the only returning champ in the field; Angelique Kerber beat Bartoli in last year’s three-set final.

“After my match against [Roberta] Vinci last night I didn’t think I’d have enough time to recover, but I did all the right things and woke up feeling good,” said Petrova, who was not broken on serve in her last 24 service games of the tournament. “I knew this was the last one and that I just had to give everything I had left…I didn’t really have so much left in my tank, so I had to play smart and keep the points short.”

Women’s Notes: (1) Stosur after a bye could open against Cornet, and (3) Wozniacki after a bye against the Slam winner Schiavone…Pulling from the event were Marina Erakovic, Sara Errani, Kaia Kanepi, and Aleksandra Wozniak…Returning champs in the field are Cibulkova (2011) and Schiavone (2009).

“We are also very friends outside the court,” said Errani of her doubles partner Vinci, who she will face in the quarters. “This is one thing that helps very much on the court…but also because we are playing both very good. I think this year we are playing very good tennis.”

“I know this is special, this day, for him, but I’m doing my job,” said del Potro, who is 3-1 career against Roddick, but lost their most recent meeting. “I will try to be focused on my match and doing my things, my shots. The match is going to be very tough. But, anyway, if I play in high level, will be tough for both players. The crowd loves Andy here and they have respect me, so it will be a fantastic show to the players and to the fans also.”