A five-time champion in the Spanish capital, Nadal is looking to match Novak Djokovic’s career record of 37 ATP Masters 1000 titles this week.
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There are no plans for COVID restrictions this year after impacting the Championships over the last two years.
Djokovic’s return to the court in just over six weeks ended sooner than expected, following his defeat on Tuesday.
Organisers said the 20-time grand slam winner will be allowed to compete as the tournament prepares to stage what is expected to be the first grand slam without any COVID-19 related restrictions since the pandemic broke two years ago.
The 20-time Grand Slam winner was deported from Australia ahead of the Australian Open in January and insisted that he would be prepared to miss further major tournaments over his stance.
Playing his first tournament of the year following his deportation from Australia, Djokovic had looked impressive in his first two matches.
Nadal had the opportunity to overtake ‘Big Three’ rivals Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer on the list of major winners with only a second Melbourne triumph and first since 2009 in Sunday’s showpiece, but he looked to have blown that chance after falling two sets down to the 2021 US Open champion.
Rafael Nadal was down a set against Daniil Medvedev but led 5-3 in the second set and was on break point when play was stopped after 90 minutes.
He was deported from Australia the day before the start of the Melbourne Slam, delaying his attempt to win a record 21st major singles title.
But, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he could be allowed to enter the country sooner under appropriate conditions.
The unanimous ruling by a three-judge Federal Court bench dealt a final blow to Djokovic’s hopes of chasing a record 21st Grand Slam win
Hours earlier, three judges at the Federal Court had unanimously dismissed the unvaccinated Serbian superstar’s last-gasp attempt to overturn the government’s cancellation of his visa.
Consequently, he is set to be deported from Australia, after losing his appeal against his visa cancellation.
The Serbian faces deportation after his visa was cancelled for a second time, with the government labelling the 34-year-old a threat to public health.
The decision on “health and good order” grounds means he could be deported and get a three-year visa ban.
The 34-year-old – who has always refused to publicly reveal his vaccination status – initially travelled to compete at the Grand Slam with a medical exemption from having a COVID-19 vaccine.
Judge Anthony Kelly has earlier ordered the release of the tennis star from detention.
Justice Anthony Kelly has also expressed agitation over the rejection of Djokovic’s medical exemption.
Home Affairs lawyers applied to the Federation Circuit Court to re-schedule the case by two days from Monday to Wednesday.
Djokovic has been detained since early Thursday at an immigration facility in Melbourne after his visa was cancelled.