04/25 Madrid Open

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Ace Cream's daily newsletter during Masters 1000s and Grand Slams, every morning at 8:30.

Today is Saturday, April 25, in Madrid it's 08:30 and the temperature is 15 degrees. Okay, let's go.

On today's menu

• 🇮🇹 Sinner drops a set but takes down Bonzi, 23 straight wins at Masters 1000s
• 🇪🇸 Jodar knocks out De Minaur: first career top 10 win, at 19
• 🇮🇹 Musetti handles Hurkacz in two sets, back to the third round
• 🇭🇷 Prizmic strikes again: Shelton out after Berrettini
• 🎯 The favorites move on, some struggle: the women's draw takes shape

WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY:

🇮🇹 Sinner Struggles But Advances

Jannik Sinner beat Benjamin Bonzi 6-7(6) 6-1 6-4 in the second round, in his seasonal clay debut at Madrid and his first official match after the suspension. The opening set went without a break, with several break points saved by the Frenchman, who then took the tiebreak by saving a set point. From the second set on, Sinner raised his level on the down-the-line backhand and found the breaks he needed to close it out.

His Masters 1000 streak rises to 23 consecutive wins, matching one of Nadal's historic runs, still far from Federer's record (29) and from Djokovic's two great sequences (30 and 31). More than the score, what matters is that Jannik admitted he "struggled quite a lot": a candor that tells you better than any analysis where he stands with the clay after months off. A match like this, won the hard way, is the kind of step that — at the start of a tournament — is more useful than a comfortable win.

🇪🇸 Jodar Stuns De Minaur, First Top 10 Win

Rafael Jodar, 19, a home wild card, beat Alex de Minaur 6-3 6-1 on the Manolo Santana court, in front of a Spanish crowd that turned the night session into something resembling an early final. It's the young Spaniard's first career win against a top 10, and in the third round he'll meet Joao Fonseca.

For De Minaur, ATP No. 8, it's a heavy exit and not one explained solely by the young Spaniard's pace: on European clay, the Australian still can't find a place to anchor his containment-based tennis, and the altitude in Madrid tends to amplify every doubt. For Jodar, on the other hand, the feeling is that this tournament is becoming the kind of stretch that, in a career, usually marks a before and after.

🇮🇹 Musetti Handles Hurkacz In Two

Lorenzo Musetti beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 7-6(4) on the Arantxa Sanchez Vicario court, controlling the first set with a break in the ninth game and taking the second-set tiebreak after going up a break and then being pulled back. The serve wasn't always sharp, but the backhand was once again finding the diagonal that belongs to him.

It counts as his first win of the tournament after the bitter exit in Monte-Carlo against Vacherot, and it comes on a surface where Lorenzo — semifinalist here last year — should have something to say. More than for the technical level, the match weighs for how he managed the awkward moments of the second set: sometimes simply not losing a match like this is enough to start feeling it again.

🇭🇷 Prizmic Strikes Again

Dino Prizmic, Croatian born in 2005, eliminated Ben Shelton, the No. 4 seed, with a 6-4 6-7(4) 7-6(5) scoreline. It's the second big scalp for the young Croat after beating Berrettini in the first round: ten days in Madrid that are starting to look like a small tournament within the tournament.

The only break of the match came in the tenth game of the first set; the second and third sets both went to a tiebreak, and Prizmic found the right push in the decisive one. For the American, it's another early exit at a Masters 1000 on clay, a surface where his idea of tennis — very vertical, very flat — struggles to communicate with the high bounces of the Caja Mágica.

🎯 Pegula, Zheng, Rybakina, Gauff: Favorites Move On

A good day for the top half of the women's draw. Jessica Pegula got past Katie Boulter 6-4 6-4 conceding next to nothing, Coco Gauff dispatched Leolia Jeanjean 6-3 6-0 in 82 minutes, and Elena Rybakina needed three sets to take down Elena-Gabriela Ruse 4-6 6-3 7-5. Tougher was Qinwen Zheng's comeback, who beat Sofia Kenin 1-6 6-3 6-3 after a first set in which she couldn't find the line.

In a draw already trimmed by several withdrawals and high-profile exits, the fact that all the favorites are still alive in the third round is starting to be a small story in itself. More than the individual wins, it's interesting to note how each of them had to go through an awkward moment: it's the kind of match where, usually, you can tell who's coming into form and who isn't.

WHAT'S HAPPENING TODAY:

• Sabalenka vs Cristian (WTA) - Night session on the Manolo Santana for the defending champion in the third round against the Romanian. First real test of the tournament for Aryna, after handling her opener with Stearns without taking risks.
• Tsitsipas vs Bublik (ATP) - Also in the night session, a second-round match that on paper is the most unpredictable of the day. Stefanos comes off a hard-fought opener, Bublik is unpredictable by definition and at altitude his serve becomes an extra problem.
• Zverev vs Navone (ATP) - Debut for the German, twice champion here (2018, 2021), against the Argentine clay specialist. A match where Zverev will try to spark a 2026 that has so far been more about consolidation than relaunch.
• Munar vs Ruud (ATP) - The Spaniard takes on the Norwegian, defending champion here after his 2025 title. The H2H is heavily in Casper's favor, and he opens his title defense looking right away for the right feel on Madrid's clay.
• Swiatek - third round (WTA) - Iga plays on the Arantxa Sanchez Vicario against Ann Li after yesterday's clean performance. If the sense is of a gradual return to form, this is a match to win without spending too much.
• Paolini vs Baptiste (WTA) - Jasmine in the third round against American Hailey Baptiste, who is going through a spring of growth. On Madrid's tricky clay, not a match to take lightly.
• Carreño Busta vs Davidovich Fokina (ATP) - Spanish derby on the Arantxa Sanchez. The kind of match the home crowd has been waiting for since the draw came out.

Read more

• Jannik Sinner needs three sets in Madrid win: 'I struggled quite a lot'
• Rafael Jodar sinks Alex de Minaur for first Top 10 win, sets Joao Fonseca Madrid clash
• Sinner survives Bonzi scare to extend Masters winning streak to 23
• These are the seeded players eliminated in the second round of the Madrid Open 2026
• Order of play for Saturday, April 25th at the Mutua Madrid Open 2026: Sabalenka and Tsitsipas in the evening
• Madrid Open: Cameron Norrie advances but Katie Boulter beaten by Jessica Pegula in second round

Have a great breakfast and a great day.

See you tomorrow at 08:30 with TIE-Breakfast