At the Madrid Open on Saturday, top-seeded Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek both easily defeated their opponents to move forward in the tournament.
Sinner beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-0, 6-3 in the second round, maintaining his perfect record against his fellow Italian. The Australian Open champion had a bye in the first round. Next, Sinner will play against either Jordan Thompson or Pavel Kotov.
He’s aiming for his fourth title of the season after winning in Melbourne Park, Rotterdam, and Miami, all hard-court events. Only one of his 13 career titles has been on clay, at the Croatia Open in 2022.
Similarly, Swiatek defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-1 to reach the women’s round of 16. Swiatek, ranked first, has a record of 26 wins and 4 losses this season.
She will face either Victoria Azarenka or Sara Sorribes Tormo on Monday for a place in the final eight.
Swiatek is preparing to compete for her third consecutive title at the French Open next month, having won at Roland Garros in 2020, 2022, and 2023.
The Madrid Open is the only European clay tournament at the 500 level or above that Swiatek hasn’t won yet. In other matches, fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari defeated Sloane Stephens 6-1, 6-3, ending Stephens’ seven-match winning streak.
On the men’s side, Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro surprised Stefanos Tsitsipas with a 6-4, 6-4 victory in the second round. Tsitsipas, ranked seventh, had a 10-1 record on clay before this match, having won Monte Carlo earlier this month and reached the final of Barcelona last week.
“I had a very good opponent on the other side of the net,” Tsitsipas said. “He was coming up with great shots and punishing me every single time I played short.”
Later, Rafael Nadal will face Alex de Minaur.
