TENNIS

Rafael Nadal broke John McEnroe’s record of 49 straight sets won on the same surface by beating Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 6-4 in the third round of the Madrid Open on Thursday.

Nadal extended his winning streak to 50 consecutive sets on clay, eclipsing the mark McEnroe established on carpet in 1984.

“When my career is over, these are things that are going to be there for always. It’s difficult to be able to win 50 sets in a row,” Nadal said. “Well, it’s done. It’s over. Let’s not talk about that any more and let’s continue on what we have ahead, which is what I am concerned about.”

The world No. 1’s focus is trained on his next match against Dominic Thiem, a rematch of last year’s final. Thiem, who outlasted Borna Coric 2-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4, is the last player to beat Nadal on clay at Rome last year.

“On this surface, (Thiem) is one of the most dangerous players you can face,” Nadal said. “Tomorrow is a key match in the tournament.”

While Nadal marched on, the top women’s players continued to struggle after top-ranked Simona Halep and Maria Sharapova both lost in the quarterfinals.

HOCKEY

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: Captain Connor McDavid scored a hat trick to lead Canada to a 5-0 win over Norway in Denmark and the Czech Republic beat Russia 4-3 in overtime.

Earlier, Cam Atkinson scored in overtime to give the United States a 3-2 win over Latvia, its fourth straight victory at the tournament.

AHL: Alex Krushelnyski scored 6:48 into the fifth overtime period and Alex Lyon made 94 saves to lead the Lehigh Valley Phantoms to a 2-1 win over the Charlotte Checkers in the longest game in the AHL’s 82-year history.

The game surpassed the Phantoms’ 3-2 win over the Albany River Rats that took 142:58 to decide in 2008.

BASKETBALL

NBA: Oklahoma City Thunder forward Nick Collison, 37, is retiring after 15 years in the NBA.