Madrid Open: Dusan Lajovic stuns Felix Auger-Aliassime as Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur and Frances Tiafoe advance
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Updated 29/04/2023 at 20:30 GMT
Upsets were the order of the day in the Madrid Open men's singles with British player Dan Evans losing in straight sets to Bernabe Zapata Miralles. Meanwhile, second seed Daniil Medvedev continued his good form with a comfortable straight-sets win over Andrea Vavassori. The win takes Medvedev's victories to 32 this season. The Russian is looking for his first ATP title on clay in Madrid.
Alcaraz beats Auger-Aliassime to reach semi-final at Indian Wells
A busy day in the Madrid Open in the Spanish capital saw a number of upsets in the men’s singles.
Britain’s Dan Evans lost to home favourite Bernabe Zapata Miralles in straight sets, ending his hopes of another good run in the Spain. Evans had reached the semi-finals of the Barcelona Open last week, but was upset by Zapata Miralles in just 80 minutes.
The Spaniard snatched an early break and, though Evans bravely battled to hold his next service game, the Brit was chasing the match. The second set was a similar story, with Evans dropping his first two service games and barely holding his third. It was a procession from there, as the Spaniard closed out the match to book a meeting in the next round with Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin.
Russian second seed Daniil Medvedev continued his excellent start to the 2023 season with a Vavassoristraight-sets victory over Andrea .
The win takes the 27-year-old's competitive victories this season to 32. Although clay is not his favourite surface, Medvedev's quarter-final run in Monte-Carlo bodes well for the rest of the clay court season.
Medvedev won the match against Vavassori in just 82 minutes, with the Italian failing to hurt his opponent. Medvedev will be looking for his first ATP title on clay in Madrid, having reached only one final on this surface in the past.
Russian qualifier Alexander Shevchenko crushed 31 seed Jiri Lehecka, 6-1, 6-1 in just 45 minutes to advance in Madrid. The World No. 96 will face Medvedev, the second seed, next. In the previous round, Shevchenko defeated American J.J. Wolf 6-4, 6-4.
German Jan-Lennard Struff saw off American Ben Shelton, the No. 32 seed, in three sets (4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5). Struff, who is ranked No. 65, will face Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No. 7 seed in the next round. Prior to his win over Shelton, the 33-year-old German defeated Italian Lorenzo Sonego in straight sets (6-3, 6-1).
Safiullin, No. 112 in the world, upset American Tommy Paul, the No. 14 seed, 6-3, 7-6 (3) to move into the third round.
Safiullin will face the winner of the match between Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles and No. 19 seed Evans. The Russian had beaten Chilean Nicolas Jarry 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 before his victory against Paul.
Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp was eliminated in another upset by Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev. The No. 23 seed went down 6-2, 7-5 at the Caja Magica.
The Russian previously beat Serb Laslo Djere (7-6 (5), 7-5) before his latest victory secured a meeting with Australian Alex de Minaur.
De Minaur, the 16th seed, defeated Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato (6-4, 7-6 [5]) as the skies darkened in mid-afternoon. De Minaur, ranked 19th in the world, will face Karatsev in the next round. Cecchinato, the world No. 85, had previously defeated Hungarian Marton Fucsovics (7-6 [4], 6-3) in the first round of the Madrid Open.
World No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime fell to a surprise defeat at the hands of Dusan Lajovic, 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(7-5).
Both players traded service games in the decisive third set until the tiebreaker when Lajovic suddenly hit form. The Serbian was 6-2 up before his Canadian adversary found his feet, defending three match points before Lajovic finally sealed the match.
Twenty-two-year-old Argentinian Sebastian Baez battled past American Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to earn a third-round berth where he will face either wildcard Dominic Thiem or No. 3 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
After being outbattled in the first set, Baez took the second courtesy of a crucial late break.
An early break in the third put him into a strong position, but Giron successfully defended two match points and held serve to force the decisive set into a 10th game.
The American beat off another Baez match point but couldn't keep the fight going, dropping the game, set and match after two hours and 12 minutes.
American World No. 10 Tommy Fritz pushed past Australian Christopher O'Connell in a near-two hour slugfest. Fritz won in straight sets, but had to battle the whole way, eventually emerging with a 7-6(13-11), 6-4 win.
Fellow American Frances Tiafoe made relatively short work of his second round opponent, beating Argentinian Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 7-6(7-5) in one hour and 40 minutes. Tiafoe was assured of an Argentinian opponent in the next round, as he awaited the winner of Francisco Cerundolo v Pedro Cachin.
Cachin emerged with an upset win in the all-Argentinian battle, 6-1, 7-6(6-8).
Tomorrow will see the entire third round play out. Highlights should include the meeting of Grigor Dimitrov with No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz, and the all-Russian clash between Medvedev and Shevchenko.
Cam Norrie avoided any slip-ups after sneaking through a narrow two-setter against Yosuke Watanuki in 99 minutes, 6-4, 7-6(7-5).
The Brit secured a meeting with China's Zhizhen Zhang.
Zhang booked his own spot in the third round after a tough three-setter against Canadian 21 seed Denis Shapovalov, 6-7(7-4); 6-4,7-6(7-1). Zhang had beaten Austrian qualifier Jurij Rodionov to reach the second round.
Chilean Cristian Garin beat Serbian 23-year-old Miomir Kecmanovic 7-6(7-3), 6-7(5-7), 6-4 in a two hour 45 minute epic. It was another upset to cap off the day with the 33 seed losing to the 73 seed.
In the late match, the struggling Dominic Thiem was in action against fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Austrian has recently struggled with injury but he was the better player in the first set as he won it 6-3, with his Greek opponent struggling.
Tsitsipas rallied hard in the second and blitzed Thiem 6-1.
The decisive third set went to a tie break and it was Tsitsipas who held his nerve to win 3-6 6-1 7-6(7-5) and reach the next round.
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