Third-round action begins on Sunday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where Carlos Alcaraz, Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune continue their title quests at the ATP Masters 1000 clay-court event.

Karen Khachanov, Hubert Hurkacz and Alexander Zverev also play on a day when seeded stars clash for the first time at this year’s event. ATPTour.com looks at some of the key third-round matchups on show in the Spanish capital on Sunday across the men’s singles draw and men’s doubles draw.

[1] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) vs. [26] Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)

Alcaraz triumphed in Madrid last year, defeating Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev en route to the crown. Twelve months on and the 19-year-old overcame a tough opening test against Emil Ruusuvuori on Friday to set a second meeting against former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov.

Alcaraz, who will boost his World No. 1 hopes if he defends his title in the Spanish capital, is seeking his fourth tour-level title of the season in Madrid. The home favourite will be aware of the threat Dimitrov holds as he chases his 17th consecutive win at Spanish ATP Tour events.

The Bulgarian is one of the cleanest ballstrikers on the Tour and quickly found his rhythm against Gregoire Barrere in his opening round to improve to 11-7 on the season. Yet with Alcaraz backed by home support and possessing an array of weapons, Dimitrov will need to be at his best if he is to upset the Spaniard and earn his second Top 10 win of the season.

[5] Andrey Rublev vs. [28] Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN)

Rublev has made a red-hot start to the clay swing, winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo before advancing to the final in Banja Luka. The fifth seed made a winning start in Madrid, downing former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka in straight sets to improve to 9-1 on the surface in 2023.

Rublev’s third-round opponent Nishioka could cause him problems, though. The Japanese star leads Rublev 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, having defeated him in their previous meeting in Washington last year. The 28th seed moved past Alex Molcan in his opening match to earn his first ATP Masters 1000 win of the season and will be aiming to recapture the form that saw him advance to the fourth round at January’s Australian Open.

Having advanced to the quarter-finals in Madrid last season, Rublev will be hoping his big-hitting game will be too much for Nishioka when they meet on Sunday.

[6] Holger Rune (DEN) vs. [29] Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ESP)

Holger Rune survived a major scare in his opening match at the Caja Magica. He saved one match point to defeat Alexander Bublik on his Madrid debut, improving to 9-1 on clay this year. The 19-year-old, who this month advanced to the final in Monte-Carlo and lifted his fourth tour-level trophy in Munich, will look to continue his red-hot form when he takes on Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in their first tour-level meeting.

The home favourite Davidovich Fokina eased past Albert Ramos-Vinolas to reach the third round in Madrid for the first time. The 23-year-old enjoyed a run to the quarter-finals in Barcelona last week and will be seeking his first Top 10 win of the season when he takes on World No. 7 Rune.

Also In Action

Zverev holds fond memories in Madrid, having lifted the trophy in 2018 and 2021 before he advanced to the final last year. The German will look to improve to 21-3 at the ATP Masters 1000 when he takes on Frenchman Hugo Grenier.

Miami semi-finalist Karen Khachanov meets Roberto Bautista Agut and will aim to start turning the tables in the pair’s ATP Head2Head rivalry, which the Spaniard leads 6-2. Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi upset Casper Ruud and will look to continue his run against Spaniard Jaume Munar.

In doubles action, Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov will take on sixth seeds Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara, while Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe meet Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski picked up where they left off at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday evening. The top seeds and defending champions passed a tough opening test at the ATP Masters 1000 with a 6-2, 7-6(7) win against Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz.

The Dutch-British pair saved all thee break points against them — all in the first set — and later saved a set point at 5/6 in the second-set tie-break before closing out the win on their second match point. With the help of seven aces, they won 84 per cent (32/38) of their first-serve points in the victory.

Through to the last 16, Koolhof/Skupski will face  wild cards Roberto Carballes Baena and Martin Landaluce in the second round following the Spaniards’ 6-2, 6-3 win against Rafael Matos and David Vega Hernandez on Saturday.

Second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury were knocked out in Madrid without a match win for the second straight year. The American-British team was turned back by Banja Luka champions Jamie Murray and Michael Venus, who scored a 6-2, 3-6, 10-4 upset.

Third seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek also fell victim to an opening-round upset, with Simone Bolelli and Fabrice Martin dismissing them with a 6-4, 3-6, 12-10 win. The Italian-French duo saved a match point at 10/9 in the Match Tie-break before clinching victory on the second match point of thier own.

Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov also advanced on Satuday with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 win against Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, setting up a second-round showdown with fifth-seeded Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic.

Stefanos Tsitsipas completed a dramatic comeback against Dominic Thiem with victory in a third-set tie-break on Saturday night at the Mutua Madrid Open. In a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(5) triumph, the Greek used a flawless serving performance to shift the tone of the match, then battled back from 1/3 in the decisive tie-break after seeing five break points go begging on return at 5-5.

The Greek made 39 straight first serves spanning from late in the opening set to early in the third and won 88 per cent (50/57) per cent of his overall first-serve points in the two-hour, 19-minute contest.

“That’s fantastic, 39 is a lot,” Tsitsipas said of the streak. “That shows that perhaps I improved today on my serve. That’s a positive mark for me. I think I just owe it all to fluidity and just being relaxed on my serve… I think it’s just pure relaxation and focus.”

With victory in the pair’s first meeting since the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals, Tsitsipas closed the gap to 4-5 in their ATP Head2Head series, including a 2-1 mark on clay. Both competitors are former finalists in Madrid, with Tsitsipas reaching the 2019 title match and Thiem finishing runner-up in 2017 and 2018.

The last man in the Madrid singles draw to book his third-round ticket, Tsitsipas will next face 25th seed Sebastian Baez, who beat Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 earlier on Saturday.

“It was very physical and I think we both played our best,” Tsitsipas said of his opening win against Thiem. “I’m in a way happy that we were able to show that kind of tennis… Today sort of showed what kind of intensity two guys that play single-hand backhands can bring to tennis. I’m happy I got away with a win. Things weren’t easy at the very end but I just kept fighting.”

A semi-finalist last year in the Spanish capital, Tsitsipas entered this year’s event on the heels of a run to the Barcelona final, where he was beaten by Carlos Alcaraz. But Thiem halted his momentum in the opening set with an aggressive game plan built around heavy cuts from his forehand wing. The Austrian saved three break points to consolidate his early break and build a 4-1 lead en route to claiming the first set.

Behind his stellar serving, Tsitsipas dominated the second set as Thiem’s forehand began to misfire, with the Greek driving home his advantage with a slew of well-timed drop shots.

Thiem stayed in front in the final set behind several battling holds, none more dramatic than his final service game, in which both players produced some of their best tennis with the match on the line. After five deuces and more than 11 minutes, Thiem escaped. But Tsitsipas won four straight points to lead 5/3 in the tie-break and clinched victory on his second match point.

“I had confidence in my tennis and I knew that bit by bit I would be able to fight back,” Tsitsipas added of the match as a whole. “My confidence showed in that second set where I was just serving really well and started finding my rhythm on the returns. The third set it was just pure fight. He’s not someone that’s going to give up and he hates even giving the slightest to you in terms of free points.

“I knew I was dealing with something big and that tie-break, it was just pure cash.”

The Greek denied Thiem his first Top 10 win since he beat Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals. Thiem was also seeking his first Top 10 win on clay since beating Djokovic in the 2019 Roland Garros semis. The defeat dropped him to 7-12 on the season, while Tsitsipas improved to 21-6.

Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe both made winning starts at the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday by coming through challenging opening matches in straight sets. Fritz edged Christopher O’Connell 7-6(11), 6-4, with Tiafoe wrapping a 6-3, 7-6(5) win against Tomas Martin Etcheverry soon after.

Fritz, fresh off consecutive semi-finals in Monte-Carlo and Munich, continued his strong clay-court form as the eighth seed in Madrid by beating fellow Munich semi-finalist O’Connell.

“It’s just understanding what I need to change. Because I’ve always been a believer in not really changing your game too much to go to different surfaces,” Fritz said of his recent success on the dirt. “As it turns out for clay, I play much better when I do make pretty drastic changes in where I’m standing and stuff like that. So it’s just about finding that, finding what works best for me on clay.”

The 25-year-old needed eight set points before closing out the first set in a marathon tie-break, 13/11, against Australia’s O’Connell, saving two set points to edge ahead on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium. He earned the first and only break of the match early in the second set and then saved a break point on his own serve to consolidate for 3-1.

Fritz saved one break point in each set and finished with eight aces and an 83 per cent win rate (34/41) on first serve, backed up by a 72 per cent mark (23/32) on second serve. He will next face Cristian Garin, who upset 27th seed Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-4 in two hours, 42 minutes.

Tiafoe made a fast start against Etcheverry but needed to break to extend the second set as the Argentine served at 5-4. Though he had not created a break chance since the fourth game of the match, Tiafoe managed to draw level at the crucial moment and then won a dramatic tie-break that saw seven of 12 points go against serve.

The ninth seed will next meet another Argentine in Pedro Cachin, who upset his countryman and 24th seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-1, 7-6(6) to reach the third round.

Ben Shelton has imposed his explosive game on the ATP Tour this season, rising into the Top 40 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings with his electric style of play. The American has also shown an uncanny knack for inventive shotmaking this season, with his athleticism creating opportunities for unexpected moments from all parts of the court.

On Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open, the 20-year-old produced what may have been his most impressive shot yet. Scrambling wide to retrieve a deep, angled volley from Jan-Lennard Struff in their second-round match, Shelton pulled off a behind-the-back flick to stun the German, who appeared to have the line covered before the passing shot snuck past him.

It was not the first time Shelton went behind his back for a winner this season. In Acapulco, he showed quick thinking and quicker hands to stab a majestic, no-look volley into the open court in doubles action.

While Shelton and partner Mackenzie McDonald used the momentum from that moment of brilliance to upset fourth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah in Acapulco, the American came up just short against Struff in Madrid, with the German advancing 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5.

Dusan Lajovic is running red hot on the European clay.

The Serbian notched his third Top 10 win in the space of nine days on Saturday at the Mutua Madrid Open by taking out seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5).

Lajovic clinched an enthralling second-round encounter with a stunning start to the deciding-set tie-break. He charged to a 5/0 lead against a tight Auger-Aliassime, who then threatened a remarkable comeback but was unable to prevent Lajovic converting his sixth match point for a two-hour, 34-minute win.

“It was super tight at the end,” said Lajovic, who had let slip his first two match points at 6-5 on the Auger-Aliassime serve in the final set. “I was just hoping that he was going to stay back on my serve, because when he was coming in, I was feeling a lot of pressure.

“We opened up the last point. I tried to play heavy on my forehand but because my hand was tight, it was really going short until in the end [one] came up well.”

A stunning display of tennis from @Dutzee as he triumphs over Auger-Aliassime 6-2 3-6 7-6 in Madrid 🙌@MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/2l1XWoxGN2

— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 29, 2023

Lajovic defeated World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and No. 6 Andrey Rublev en route to his second ATP Tour title in Banja Luka last week. He is now 16-7 for 2023 and 3-0 against Auger-Aliassime, having beaten the Canadian at the 2020 ATP Cup and in Toronto in 2021.

“Today in the match I really felt like I was going in to show my game,” said Lajovic, when asked about his hat-trick of Top 10 wins. “I knew I would have chances if I played my best tennis. It’s really a good feeling to have this much confidence, but I need to be also very careful because it is so easy to lose confidence, especially in tennis.”

The World No. 40 will play Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round at the Caja Magica, where he now holds a 7-4 record. The German lucky loser Struff also held his nerve in a deciding set on Saturday to down 32nd seed Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-6(4), 7-5.

As well as Auger-Aliassime, there were also second-round defeats for seeded players Tommy Paul and Daniel Evans on Saturday in Madrid.

Qualifier Roman Safiullin took down the 14th-seeded Paul 6-3, 7-6(3) to advance to the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time. Safiullin saved both break points he faced in his 99-minute win against Paul, and the 25-year-old has now risen two spots to No. 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings as a result of his run in the Spanish capital.

Safiullin’s next opponent is Bernabe Zapata Miralles. The home favourite brushed past 19th seed Evans 6-3, 6-2 to ensure a Spanish presence remains in the bottom half of the Madrid draw.

Thirty-two wins and counting for Daniil Medvedev in 2023.

Not even the move to his less-favoured clay has stopped the 27-year-old from racking up victories on the ATP Tour. Following his quarter-final run in Monte-Carlo, Medvedev made a rock-solid start to his Mutua Madrid Open campaign on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori.

Medvedev stayed patient against the World No. 164 Vavassori, notching a late break of serve in each set to complete an 82-minute triumph. Vavassori had claimed the biggest win of his career against Andy Murray in the first round at the Caja Magica, but the second-seeded Medvedev’s combination of huge serving and relentless baseline hitting proved a step too far for the Italian.

“I played well today. I felt [good],” said Medvedev, who saved all three break points he faced in his second-round win. “There were some tight moments in the match, but when we had rallies from the baseline, I felt like many times I was in control. I’m really happy about my level.”

With the win, Medvedev improved to 2-3 in Madrid, where he also reached the third round in 2021. Despite frequently acknowledging he does not feel his most comfortable on clay, the 19-time tour-level titlist hopes his opening victory can be the foundation for a bigger run in the Spanish capital.

“I just want to play my best,” said Medvedev. “Sure, everyone is saying here I should like it a little bit more than other clay courts because the serve goes a bit faster, the court is faster. So far I haven’t done well in Madrid, but today was a great match and I just hope for more matches like this in the next two weeks.”

The World No. 3 Medvedev is now 32-4 for the year. He is chasing his fifth tour-level trophy of the season in Madrid, where he now prepares for a third-round clash against another qualifier, Alexander Shevchenko.

Shevchenko backed up his first-round win against J.J. Wolf in Madrid in style by dismantling the 31st seed Jiri Lehecka 6-1, 6-1. The 22-year-old converted all five break points he earned and powered 24 winners in his 45-minute victory as he reached the third round on his ATP Masters 1000 main-draw debut.

The fast-rising Shevchenko has already won two ATP Challenger Tour events (including one in Madrid earlier this month) in 2023 and broke the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time on 17 April.

Five Top 10 seeds will open their Mutua Madrid Open campaigns on Saturday at the ATP Masters 1000, with the second round of singles action to be completed on Day 4 of main-draw play.

Two men’s matches feature on Manolo Santana Stadium, with Stefanos Tsitsipas meeting Dominic Thiem and Daniil Medvedev facing Andrea Vavassori. Felix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Denis Shapovalov highlight the ATP Tour action on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, while a busy doubles slate sees each of the top three seeds in their first action of the week.

ATPTour.com breaks down some of the biggest matchups on Saturday’s schedule across the men’s singles draw and men’s doubles draw.

[4] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) vs. Dominic Thiem (AUT)

The past two meetings between Tsitsipas and Thiem both came at the Nitto ATP Finals — in the 2019 final, won in a third-set tie-break by Tsitsipas, and the 2020 group stage, when Thiem won in three sets. Thiem leads their overall ATP Head2Head 5-3, with their history including five meetings in 2018.

But the familiar foes have not squared off since their November 2020 meeting in the London season finale. After Thiem beat Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-1 to set up this marquee matchup, the Austrian was excited to renew the rivalry.

“I am looking forward to that one a lot,” he said of their second-round meeting. “I like him a lot. He is an unbelievable player, I like watching his matches. He is very elegant. We’ve had some great matchups.”

Thiem is hoping to build on reaching two quarter-finals in his past three events (Estoril, Munich), while Tsitsipas aims to stay hot after reaching the final last week in Barcelona. The Greek is rounding into form following a post-Australian Open dip in which he did not win more than two matches at four straight tournaments.

“I consider myself a candidate for this tournament in terms of having good results,” Tsitsipas said of his chances in Madrid. “The run I had in Barcelona brought me joy because after the Australian Open I didn’t go deep in tournaments. Now I’ve had a first glimpse of what it is to be strong again. Things are looking pretty bright.”

Both Tsitsipas and Thiem have excelled on clay courts throughout their careers, with Tsitsipas winning three titles on the surface to Thiem’s 10. At their best, both can win with consistency or power from the baseline behind heavy ground strokes. A key tactical component to this match will be how often Tsitsipas uses his all-court game to attack the net, and how well Thiem can fend off those approaches with his trademark, vicious passing shots.

[2] Daniil Medvedev vs. Andrea Vavassori (ITA)

Daniil Medvedev entered the European clay swing as the hottest player on the ATP Tour, winning four of five tournaments — including his maiden title in Miami — and reaching the final in Indian Wells. While his run of consecutive finals came to an end in Monte-Carlo, Medvedev picked up two quality wins against Lorenzo Sonego and Alexander Zverev before falling to eventual finalist Holger Rune.

He again opens opposite an Italian this week in Andrea Vavassori, who beat Andy Murray 6-2, 7-6(7) on Thursday. The 27-year-old qualified for the Madrid main draw after reaching the quarter-finals or better at four straight ATP Challenger Tour events coming into the week.

After beating Murray to mark his ATP Masters 1000 main-draw debut, the Italian will hope his four matches on the Madrid clay serve him in good stead against Medvedev, who is competing in the Spanish capital for the first time since 2021.

Medvedev has just one match win in three Madrid appearances, but feels the unique conditions at the event give him a good chance of success this week.

“It’s definitely different. I would say it’s a little bit like Roland Garros clay where it’s kind of on a harder surface,” Medvedev said of the surface. “Also altitude, so the balls are flying. What I see from results of many people, I should be able to actually play better here than other clay court tournaments. So far, I was not able to do it. But every year is a new opportunity. This year is another one, and I’m going to try to just play my best and hopefully play some good tennis.”

[8] Taylor Fritz vs. Christopher O’Connell (AUS)

Fritz has also flashed his clay-court credentials this season, reaching consecutive semi-finals in Monte-Carlo and Munich. He picked up his first Top 10 win on the surface by beating two-time defending champion Tsitsipas in the Monte-Carlo quarters, becoming the first American man to reach the Monaco semi-finals in 20 years.

Australia’s Christopher O’Connell also enters Madrid on the back of two straight semi-finals, the first in Split on the ATP Challenger Tour and the second last week in Munich.

Both competitors have been in some of the best form of their careers this season. Fritz reached a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 5 in February, becoming the first American to hit the mark since Andy Roddick, while O’Connell reached a career high of World No. 78 last November and currently sits three points shy of that mark.

Also In Action…

In addition to the Fritz vs. O’Connell matchup, two more ATP contests will feature on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium. Auger-Aliassime will open his campaign against Dusan Lajovic, with the seventh seed seeking his first win in three tries against the Serbian, who last week defeated Novak Djokovic and Andrey Rublev en route to the Banja Luka title. Later in the day on Madrid’s second stage, Shapovalov will face China’s Zhang Zhizhen for the first time.

On Stadium 3, ninth seed Frances Tiafoe meets Tomas Martin Etcheverry and 11th seed Cameron Norrie faces Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki. Tiafoe and Paul were doubles opponents on Friday, with Tiafoe and Fritz beating Norrie and Tommy Paul in a Match Tie-break.

All three of the top doubles seeds will see their first action on Friday as well. Top seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski face Germans Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz, second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury meet Jamie Murray and Michael Venus, and third seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek take on Simone Bolelli and Fabrice Martin.