The emperor of torment
A master escape artist, a guru of handling the pressure of three-set battles… Zhang Zhizhen is more than just a record-breaking machine, he’s also an expert in mitigating the effects of nerves. Four matches. Eleven sets. Seven tiebreaks. Three matches decided in a tiebreak. This is how Zhang rolls. He toys with you, he exhausts […]
From ‘chaos’ to ‘zen mode’, Tsitsipas downs Zapata Miralles to reach last eight
Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals for the third time in five appearances thanks to a late-night 6-3, 6-1 victory over home favourite Bernabe Zapata Miralles on Tuesday. The No.4 seed, a finalist in Madrid in 2019 and a semi-finalist last year, fired 15 winners against 13 unforced errors throughout the 73-minute […]
Alcaraz eclipses Zverev in the Caja Mágica
Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev played a rematch of last year’s final at the Mutua Madrid Open, and it was a similar encounter. The Spaniard has fired a clear warning shot on the Madrid clay, outclassing the German to a 6-1, 6-2 win in just 80 minutes to book himself a place in the quarter-finals. […]
Zapata completes the changing of the guard
Bernabé Zapata Miralles’ victory on Monday means there are now four Spaniards in the last sixteen of the ATP final draw at the Mutua Madrid Open. The player from Valencia will join Carlos Alcaraz, Alejandro Davidovich and Jaume Munar. The situation has not occurred since 2015, when Rafa Nadal, David Ferrer, Roberto Bautista and Fernando […]
Medvedev survives the Shevchenko Show
Second seed Daniil Medvedev had to work hard to earn the 300th match-win of his career as he survived an inspired Alexander Shevchenko to reach the Mutua Madrid Open fourth round for the first time on Monday. Shevchenko, ranked 96 in the world, had not dropped a set through four matches in Madrid – in qualifying […]
Real Madrid support Alcaraz in the Caja Mágica
The admiration for Carlos Alcaraz in the world of sport knows no bounds. On Sunday, several Real Madrid players made the trip to the Manolo Santana Stadium to spur on the Spaniard during his third-round clash in the Mutua Madrid Open. The Murcia native, a self-confessed fan of the Whites, enjoyed some very special support […]
Alcaraz and Zverev to meet again in Madrid
Under the floodlights of the Manolo Santana Stadium, Carlos Alcaraz managed to inject some much-needed flair back into his game. The first seed defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 7-5 under the night sky of the Spanish capital to book himself a place in the last sixteen in an enclave he is bidding to make his own […]
Zverev finds his stride in the Caja Mágica
Having come through an opener in which Roberto Carballés had him against the ropes, Alexander Zverev was close to his best on Sunday, when he produced the type of tennis that won him two Mutua Madrid Open titles (2018, 2021), as well as a runner-up trophy last year. The German never gave French player Hugo […]
Rublev roars into the last sixteen
Andrey Rublev is on a high. The Muscovite has enjoyed his best ever start to the clay swing and on Sunday at the Mutua Madrid Open he claimed his tenth win on the surface from eleven appearances in 2023. The fifth seed, with his typically brave brand of tennis, stormed past Japanese player Yoshihito Nishioka […]
Tsitsipas wins an epic clash with Thiem
A Manolo Santana Centre Court that was packed to the rafters was treated to a barnstorming tennis match between Stefanos Tsitsipas and Dominic Thiem. It was an encounter that any other year could have been a semi-final, or even a final – both players know what it is to play in the decider in the […]