On the brink of the first weekend of the Mutua Madrid Open, Friday’s night session was a barnstormer. Alexander Zverev (4) and Holger Rune (11) had the fans of Madrid in raptures in the Manolo Santana and Arantxa Sánchez stadiums.

The German hit 19 winners, of which 5 came from his serve, to beat Croatia’s Borna Coric (6-3, 6-2) in one hour and 26 and tennis.

“I feel good, as always on this special court. I said many times this is my favourite one in the whole world. I really like playing here in Madrid”, said Zverev of his love for the Manolo Santana Stadium.

The champion of the Masters 1000 in the Spanish capital in 2018 and 2021 now has 22 wins under his belt at the event and will be looking to increase that number on Monday, in round three, against Canada’s Dennis Shapovalov (7-6[3], 6-3 vs Tomás Etcheverry).

“Shapovalov is a great player. Last year he was injured so he dropped his ranking very quickly. I will have to be focused and we will see what happens”, said the German of his next opponent.

Of the possibility of claiming his third title in Madrid, Zverev played down his chances. “Everybody knows that Nadal and Alcaraz are here. But I am happy to be in Madrid and if I can win for the third time, it would be very special and I will go for it in the next ten days”, he concluded.

Elsewhere, Rune had to dig deep into the clay of Madrid to get past a stubborn Mariano Navone. The Dane battled the Argentine for two hours and 58 minutes  before sealing his triumph (5-7, 7-6[2], 6-4).

The Scandinavian’s opponent served for the match in game twelve but failed to convert and Rune will now face Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (4-6, 6-3, 6-4 vs Taro Daniel) for a place in the fourth round that would be one step further than he went in his 2023 campaign in the Caja Mágica.