Madrid Open weekend slate
- Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Casper Ruud opened their Madrid campaigns on Saturday, while Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek headlined the women’s slate. - Madrid’s Saturday order of play put Zverev on Manolo Santana Stadium against Mariano Navone, Medvedev against Fabian Marozsan, and Jakub Mensik against qualifier Martin Damm. - The draw already looks looser after Friday upsets knocked out Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and Tommy Paul in the men’s field (atptour.com).
Saturday in Madrid opened with Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev and Casper Ruud starting their Mutua Madrid Open runs, while Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek topped the women’s schedule. (mutuamadridopen.com) (atptour.com) The Manolo Santana Stadium card listed Belinda Bencic against Diana Shnaider first, then Ruud against Jaume Munar, Zverev against Mariano Navone not before 16:00 local time, Sabalenka against Jaqueline Cristian not before 20:00, and Alexander Bublik against Stefanos Tsitsipas after that. (mutuamadridopen.com) On Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, Iga Swiatek drew Ann Li after Mirra Andreeva faced Dalma Galfi, and Daniil Medvedev was scheduled for Fabian Marozsan in the evening session before Naomi Osaka met Anhelina Kalinina. (mutuamadridopen.com) The outside courts carried much of the men’s depth. Jakub Mensik was set to play qualifier Martin Damm on Court 4, Felix Auger-Aliassime faced qualifier Vilius Gaubas on Stadium 3, and Denis Shapovalov drew qualifier Nicolai Budkov Kjaer later on Court 4. (mutuamadridopen.com) Saturday’s slate mattered more because Friday tore holes in the men’s bracket. Ben Shelton, Alex de Minaur, Andrey Rublev and Tommy Paul all lost their opening matches on April 24, leaving four seeded spots vacant before the weekend’s second-round play was complete. (atptour.com 1) (atptour.com 2) Those losses came in different shapes. Qualifier Dino Prizmic beat Shelton 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5), wildcard Rafael Jodar routed de Minaur 6-3, 6-1, Vit Kopriva beat Rublev 6-3, 6-4, and Thiago Agustin Tirante dismissed Paul 7-5, 6-4. (atptour.com) Jannik Sinner avoided joining that list. The top seed dropped the first set to qualifier Benjamin Bonzi before recovering 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4 on Friday, and Lorenzo Musetti also advanced by beating Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6(4). (atptour.com) The women’s draw had already produced its own movement before Saturday night. Elena Rybakina survived Elena-Gabriela Ruse in three sets on Friday, Coco Gauff beat Leolia Jeanjean in straight sets, and Jessica Pegula was listed as an upcoming late match against Katie Boulter on the live WTA scoreboard. (wtatennis.com) Madrid runs through May 3 at Caja Magica, but the weekend card was already shaped by the first real shake-up of the tournament. Saturday’s job for the favorites was simple: avoid becoming the next seed missing from the draw. (mutuamadridopen.com) (atptour.com)
