Alcaraz Rallies Past Ruusuvuori At Madrid Masters, Rune Saves MP; Tsitsipas v Thiem Sat.

It was a dramatic day for the top players in the second round at the 2023 Madrid Masters as both Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune went the distance.

Alcaraz opened his title defense going down early before rallying past Emil Ruusuvuori 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

The Finn had defeated Alcaraz in their only previous meeting some time ago and today Ruusuvuori was in dominant form early behind his serve and a flurry of errors from Alcaraz.

The match turned, though, in the middle of the second. Alcaraz would save five break points in a marathon 18-point game at 2-3 in the second. Ruusuvuori would never see a break point again. Alcaraz help and then aided by a double fault from 30-0 down, broke to seize the match.

“It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose,” Alcaraz said. “It was just one point. One of the break points he had at 2-3 in the second set was like a match point for him. I was really happy I was able to save that game and come back a bit. It was really tough. Emil played unbelievably, but I am really, really happy to get through that.”

Rune was in greater danger down a match point to Alexander Bublik in a 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(11-9) win. The teen, who turns 20 on Saturday, saved a match at 7-8 in the breaker.

“Honestly I’m out of words right now. It was such a tough match,” Rune said to the ATP. “In these kind of conditions, it’s altitude, it’s very fast compared to what I’ve played so far.

“Bublik, we all know how he’s playing. He’s playing super aggressive, taking the ball aggressive and early. So I had to really dig deep and find solutions. I was brave at the end and that’s what made the difference.”

Rune just won the Munich title save four match points Sunday against Botic Van De Zand Schulp. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will be next for the Dane.

Casper Ruud’s struggles continued. The former French finalist fell to Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-4. Ruud has now lost three of his last four matches.

Elsewhere, the 5th-seeded Andrey Rublev sent off Switzerland’s former runner-up Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4. Tenth-seeded Karen Khachanov dismissed Brazil’s Thiago Monteiro in three 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. No. 12 seed Hubert Hurkacz won a tester over Richard Gasquet in a match that went the distance 6-7(9-11), 6-4, 7-5.

Former two-time champion Alexander Zverev advanced past Roberto Carballes Baena 6-7(6-8), 7-5, 6-0 to close the day.

“Very important match for me, especially after the struggles in three-set matches this year,” Zverev said to the ATP. “I think it was one or two points that decided the match and I’m obviously very happy with how it went.”

“I’m just looking forward to being back, playing these kind of matches, playing in the bigger stadiums,” he added. “Especially here, I’ve said it before, this is my absolute favorite court in the whole world. We’ll see how it goes.”

Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann stunned No. 15 Lorenzo Musetti 6-4, 7-6(7-3). France’s Hugo Grenier upended 22nd-seeded Sebastian Korda in straights 7-6(7-5), 7-6(9-7).

Grigor Dimitrov, Roberto Bautista Agut, Jaume Munar, Yoshihito Nishioka and Daniel Altmaier also were winners.

The Saturday slate includes second round play with No. 2 Daniil Medvedev will challenge Andrea Vavassori in a first-time tour-level meeting.

No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas battles Dominic Thiem, No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime locks up with Dusan Lajovic, No. 8 Taylor Fritz collides with Christopher O’Connell.

No. 9 Frances Tiafoe faces Tomas Martin Etcheverry, No. 11 Cameron Norrie will battle Yosuke Watanuki and No. 14 Tommy Paul battles Roman Safiullin.

SATURDAY MADRID MASTERS SCHEDULE
MANOLO SANTANA STADIUM
Starting At: 11:00 am
ATP [Q] Andrea VAVASSORI (ITA) vs Daniil MEDVEDEV [2]
Not Before 1:00 PM
WTA [WC] Camila Osorio (COL) vs Aryna Sabalenka [2]
Not Before 4:00 PM
WTA Coco Gauff (USA) [6] vs Paula Badosa (ESP) [26]
Not Before 8:00 pm
ATP [WC] Dominic THIEM (AUT) vs Stefanos TSITSIPAS (GRE) [4]
WTA [WC] Rebeka Masarova (ESP) vs Maria Sakkari (GRE) [9]

ARANTXA SANCHEZ STADIUM
Starting At: 11:00 am
WTA Elise Mertens (BEL) [24] vs Jule Niemeier (GER)
ATP Felix AUGER-ALIASSIME (CAN) [7] vs Dusan LAJOVIC (SRB)
ATP Taylor FRITZ (USA) [8] vs Christopher O’CONNELL (AUS)
ATP Denis SHAPOVALOV (CAN) [21] vs Zhizhen ZHANG (CHN)
Not Before 6:00 PM
WTA Caroline Garcia (FRA) [5] vs Mayar Sherif (EGY)

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