Defending Madrid Open champion Carlos Alcaraz faced a tough battle against Emil Ruusuvuori but secured a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory to reach the tournament’s third round.
Alcaraz, world number two, acknowledged the difficulty of the match, admitting that there were moments when he was unsure of what to do on the court. Despite the challenges, Alcaraz won the 2-hour-16-minute match, hitting 10 aces and saving nine of 11 break points. Alcaraz will face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16.
In the women’s draw, world number one Iga Swiatek defeated Austrian lucky loser Julia Grabher with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. Swiatek, who won the Stuttgart title last weekend, is on a five-match winning streak on clay. She will next face American left-hander Bernarda Pera, who won 6-1, 6-3 against Germany’s Tatjana Maria.
World number seven Holger Rune made a remarkable comeback in his match against Alexander Bublik, winning 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (11/9). Rune, who won the Munich championship last weekend and was the runner-up at the Monte Carlo Masters, saved a match point at 7/8 in the final set tie-break.
Meanwhile, Matteo Arnaldi achieved his first victory over a top-10 player by defeating third-seeded Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-4. The 22-year-old Italian, ranked 105, hit 35 winners on his way to victory over Ruud, who reached two Grand Slam finals last year.
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev continued his strong form, defeating Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-4. Rublev began the clay season by winning in Monte Carlo and then reached the final in Banja Luka last weekend, where he lost to Dusan Lajovic. Rublev will face Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the next round.
In other women’s matches, Anna Kalinskaya defeated seventh seed and Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, earning her third top-10 win. Kalinskaya will face 27th seed Petra Martic in the next round. Additionally, 15th seed Victoria Azarenka was upset in straight sets by Alycia Parks of the United States.
