Daniil Medvedev overcame a stern test against Sebastian Korda at the Madrid Open on Monday, fighting back from the brink of defeat to seal a 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 win and reach the last 16.

The world number four was staring at an early elimination when Korda took the opening set and put himself within two points of victory on two occasions, at both 5-4 and 6-5 up in the second.

However, Medvedev twice held firm on his own serve to force a tie-break, and the pair exchanged mini breaks before the 2021 US Open champion seized control to take it 7-4.

Medvedev's performance was error-strewn in parts, but he found more consistency in the third set, claiming the all-important break eight games in after repeatedly testing Korda's forehand. 

Medvedev will now face Alexander Bublik for a place in the quarter-finals on Tuesday after the 17th seed overcame Ben Shelton in three sets.

Data Debrief: Medvedev overcomes awkward opponent 

Medvedev has not always had things all his own way against Korda, who eliminated him from the Australian Open and the Shanghai Masters in 2023.

Prior to Monday's match, he was 23-2 versus American players since the start of 2021, with both losses coming against Korda. However, having also beaten Korda en route to the Indian Wells Open final last month, he seems to have put that hoodoo behind him.

Carlos Alcaraz boosted his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open title as he comfortably beat Thiago Seyboth Wild to reach the fourth round on Sunday.

Back in his home country of Spain, Alcaraz eased to a 6-3 6-3 triumph to set up a fourth-round clash with Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he beat in last year's final.

The first six games of the opening set went to serve, but Alcaraz found a crucial break in the seventh and ninth games of the set to put him in pole position for victory, a lead he would not relinquish as he overcame being broken in the seventh game of the second set to seal his safe progression.

Holger Rune was a surprise casualty as the world number 12 was defeated 6-4 4-6 6-3 by Tallon Griekspoor, though world number eight Andrey Rublev eased through with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Data debrief

With his triumph over Seyboth Wild at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz has now won 93.3 per cent of his games at the tournament. That is the highest win percentage of any player with at least 10 games played in a single ATP-1000 event since the format was introduced in 1990.

Against Seyboth Wild, Alcaraz won 27 of his 31 first-serve points, also recording 19 winners to his opponent's 10 as he dominated the contest on his way to victory.

Darwin Blanch presented little challenge for Rafael Nadal, who dropped just one game in a convincing 6-1 6-0 triumph at the Madrid Open.

Nadal is feeling his way back to fitness, but 16-year-old qualifier Blanch offered little resistance to the 22-time major champion on Thursday.

Making his farewell appearance at the Madrid Open, where he has won five titles, Nadal needed just 64 minutes to progress to round two.

"I think today I played against an opponent with a great future in front [of him], but today, still making mistakes," said Nadal.

"I just tried to be there, be solid all the time without taking a lot of risks. It worked well. I'm happy to be through and I wish him all the very best for the future."

Nadal's reward is a rematch with Alex de Minaur, who he lost to last week in Barcelona.

Data Debrief

This game saw the largest age gap (21 years, 117 days) between two opponents in the history of ATP Masters 1000 events.

Nadal has now registered 57 wins at the Madrid Open, which is 20 clear of any other player. 

Novak Djokovic could still win three majors next year but Gilles Simon reminded tennis fans the world number one is not "eternal" as he heads towards the end of his career.

Djokovic triumphed in three of the four majors in 2023, with September's US Open success taking him level with Margaret Court's record 24 grand slam triumphs.

Defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final, Djokovic – aged 36 years and 111 days – became the oldest winner of the men's singles title at the US Open, as well as winning a trio of majors in a year for the fourth time.

That saw him surpass Roger Federer – who won three grand slams in a year on three occasions.

Simon, though, warned that Djokovic cannot play on forever.

He told Stats Perform: "I think he can win some [majors, but] I think he's getting to an age where it is going to become difficult.

"Most of the observers want to believe that a player is eternal but none are more eternal than the others.

"I think he can win a lot next year; will he win one, two or three? Next year he can do one more big year, but I also think that it will be his last."

 

The 36-year-old Djokovic acknowledged the retirement speculation after his US Open victory, asking how long he can continue.

Simon likened the twilight of Djokovic's career to fellow great Federer, whose playing days were curtailed by injury and fitness issues.

"At one point like every player there's going to be a break, that was the case for Roger Federer, remember when he won in Australia at the age of 37 playing incredible tennis," Simon added.

"At Wimbledon, he could have won because he lost against Novak Djokovic on match point. Time never had a grip on him, he had never been injured, he played really well, and then all of a sudden he disappears."

Another of tennis' 'Big Three', Rafael Nadal has not played since January 18 at the Australian Open – again owing to injury problems as years of toiling on the court takes its toll on even the best.

"We have Rafael Nadal who we hope to see again next year, who got us accustomed to more traditional injuries, longer injuries and with doubts," Simon continued.

"Once again he wins the Australian Open, he wins at Roland Garros even with his history with his foot, he again has a semi-final at Wimbledon.

"We say no about Novak because he is more careful, but we said the same about Federer, he expends less energy, he has a more fluid game and technique, he preserved himself from injury.

"I think next year will be very interesting because it’s a year where he can again win, where he still has an advantage [ahead of the rest] but we saw him lose against [Carlos] Alcaraz at Wimbledon.

"I thought he would have more advantage on grass because of the experience he has compared to others and his game works so well on grass – but he is beatable."

Age has shown no sign of slowing Djokovic down yet after he lifted the Paris Masters trophy for a seventh time on Sunday, defeating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.

That victory marked his second hard-court ATP-1000 title of 2023, Djokovic managing multiple Masters titles in a single season for the ninth time in his career. Only Federer, having won multiple such events in a year six times in his time, can get near to that feat.

Yet Simon suggested 30 major triumphs may be out of Djokovic's reach due to the emergence of Alcaraz, who won at Wimbledon this year, and a gruelling schedule.

"He's so strong he knows how to prepare himself, but he can't do a series of tournaments," said the Frenchman, who won 14 career titles and reached a high of number six in the ATP rankings.

"If everything was going well he would be playing every week like when he was 25 years old, so that is what is missing.

"He looks after himself, ultra-professional and very strong. The US Open was important for him, I see him maybe doing one or two next year, but I am waiting to see for the next few years after that.

"I can't see him reaching 30 [majors] for example when Carlos Alcaraz could win two or three a year – I wish it for him but I don't see it like that."

The Rolex Paris Masters became the first Masters 1000 to broadcast its qualifying matches on Twitch, live on Rivenzi's channel.

Gilles Simon has warned that Carlos Alcaraz dominating men's tennis is no certainty.

Alcaraz has enjoyed a stunning rise to the top of the rankings over the past two seasons, with the 20-year-old winning two grand slam titles and 12 trophies overall.

The Spaniard has not won a title since triumphing at Wimbledon in July, however, and has reached only one final since then, losing to Novak Djokovic at the Western & Southern Open in August.

A shock defeat to Roman Safiullin at the Paris Masters this week has damaged Alcaraz's chances of pipping Djokovic to the year-end world number one, and Simon does not feel he is a shoo-in to be the standout player of the next generation.

"There are a lot of people who say: 'He's going to win 20 Grand Slams'," Simon told Stats Perform.

"It's long a career. People say he has got the freeway ahead of him. Yes, but we do not know what's behind him? 

"When [Roger Federer first arrived, we thought he was going to win a lot, and he did. Breaking [Pete] Sampras' record, we were sure of it.

"But the danger came from behind. First Rafa [Rafael Nadal] then Novak, then Andy [Murray]. And I think it will be the same for Carlos. The danger will come from behind."

Simon, who won 14 career titles and reached a high of number six in the ATP rankings, pointed to the likes of world number four Jannik Sinner and number three Daniil Medvedev, though the latter is seven years Alcaraz's senior.

"There are players aged 16, 17, who are playing extremely well and who may also have a similar career path. In the end, he still has Novak and hyper-stable, hyper-strong players like Daniil on hard court or other players on clay who can really cause him problems," Simon continued.

"Sinner and so on, but he may also have two or three guys behind him who, in two or three years' time, we don't know who they are yet, but they'll be up there like him, and we'll be saying to ourselves: 'Ah well, he never had that period when he was supposedly going to win everything with no competition in front of him'.

"There is never no competition. The other players, even if they are not the calibre of Federer or Nadal, they are very strong. Daniil is very strong, very stable on hard court, so he can beat [Alcaraz].

"Carlos seems to have the upper hand. But no, Daniil finds a solution, comes up with something else and beats him. And that is why it's never a foregone conclusion, and why it's so interesting to follow. Otherwise, we would not even be watching the match."

The Rolex Paris Masters became the first Masters 1000 to broadcast its qualifying matches on Twitch, live on Rivenzi's channel.

Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare in the opening match of his Madrid Open title defence as he came from behind to beat Emil Ruusuvuori.

The defending champion, who defeated Alexander Zverev in last year's final, was twice broken in the opening set by Ruusuvuori but responded well to prevail 2-6 6-4 6-2.

Alcaraz hit 36 winners to his opponent's 23 to reach the last 32, where Grigor Dimitrov awaits after defeating Gregoire Barrere 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2). 

"It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. "It was really tough. Emil played unbelievably, but I am really happy to get through that."

There was a shock result elsewhere as third seed Casper Ruud lost 6-3 6-4 to Matteo Arnaldi, who had never previously claimed victory over a top-10 opponent.

Arnaldi previously eliminated Benoit Paire and will now take on Jaume Munar – the Spaniard advancing after Tallon Griekspoor retired when a set behind in their second-round tie.

Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev continued his good form on the clay courts with a 7-5 6-4 win against Stan Wawrinka.

Dominic Thiem cruised through the first round of the Madrid Open in straight sets on Thursday, while former winner Andy Murray suffered an early exit.

Thiem, who has twice finished as runner-up at this event, made short work of Britain's Kyle Edmund in a 6-4 6-1 win to set up a second-round meeting with fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Austrian won 86 per cent of points on his first serve (24 of 28) and saved all four break points against him as Edmund just could not get himself into the contest.

Elsewhere, Murray, who claimed titles in Madrid in 2008 and 2015, could not embark on another such run, with the veteran dispatched by Andrea Vavassori in a 6-2 7-6 (9-7) defeat.

The Italian was particularly dominant at the net against Murray, winning 13 of 17 such points, while the 35-year-old managed just five of 14.

Qualifier Roman Safiullin saw off a fightback from Chile Open winner Nicolas Jarry to progress 6-2 3-6 6-3, setting up a clash with Tommy Paul in the second round, while Dusan Lajovic followed up his win at the Srpska Open by beating Jason Kubler 6-3 6-3. 

Stan Wawrinka recovered from a set behind to overcome Maxime Cressy and set up a second-round showdown with Andrey Rublev at the Madrid Open.

Three-time grand slam winner Wawrinka, who is the oldest player in the main draw, hit back in the Spanish capital to progress 6-7 (7-3) 6-3 7-6 (7-4).

The 38-year-old won 46 of 54 first-serve points and now has a couple of days to recover before facing fifth seed Rublev, who was handed a bye to the last 32.

Roberto Carballes Baena is also through after defeating David Goffin 6-4 6-4, with Alexander Zverev up next, while Alex Molcan saw off Wu Yibing 6-2 6-4.

There was a shock elsewhere on Wednesday as Diego Schwartzman was downed in straight sets by Hugo Grenier.

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Madrid Open, with the world number one struggling with an elbow injury just over a month before the start of the French Open.

The 22-time grand slam champion wore strapping on his right elbow at last week's Monte Carlo Masters, suffering a shock 6-4 5-7 4-6 defeat to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.

Djokovic was back in action at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka this week, losing to fellow Serbian Dusan Lajovic in the quarter-finals, but he sparked concerns regarding his injury on the eve of that tournament.

Djokovic described his elbow as "not in an ideal condition" on Tuesday, though he added it was "good enough" for him to continue his preparations for Roland Garros.

On Saturday, however, it was confirmed Djokovic would not compete at the upcoming Masters 1000 event in Madrid, which he has won on three previous occasions.

Djokovic's absence from the clay-court event, which finishes just three weeks before the French Open begins, leaves the 35-year-old facing a battle to be fit for the second grand slam of the year.

Djokovic will not be the only big-name absentee in Madrid, with Rafael Nadal withdrawing earlier this week as he continues to struggle with an injury to his left hip.

With Nadal's chances of participating at the French Open also in the balance, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said it was "hard to imagine" the event taking place without the 14-time winner.

Both Djokovic and Nadal will be targeting a record-breaking 23rd grand slam singles title if able to compete at the French Open, which will run from May 28 to June 11. 

Rafael Nadal remains unsure when he will return to action with the French Open looming after being forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open.

The 22-time grand slam champion has been struggling with a left hip issue that contributed to his second-round exit at the Australian Open in January.

Nadal pulled out of the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open, while the troublesome injury has also hampered the start of his favoured clay-court season.

Having withdrawn from the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open, the Spaniard is still not fit enough to participate in next week's Madrid Open on home soil.

And a concerned Nadal is now facing a race to be fit in time for the French Open, which begins in a little over five weeks' time.

"As you know, I suffered an important injury in Australia of the psoas [muscle]," he said in a video published on social media on Thursday.

"Initially it had to be a six-to-eight-week recovery period and we are now on fourteen. The reality is that the situation is not what we would have expected.

"All medical indications have been followed, but somehow the evolution has not been what they initially told us and we find ourselves in a difficult situation.

"The weeks are passing and I had the illusion of playing in tournaments that are the most important in my career, like Monte Carlo, Barcelona, ​​Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros. 

"For the moment, I have missed Monte Carlo and Barcelona. I will not be able to be in Madrid, unfortunately."

Nadal, who has played just four matches this season, added: "The injury still hasn't healed and I can't work out what I need to to compete. 

"I was training, but now a few days ago we decided to change course a bit, do another treatment and see if things improve to try to get to what comes next.

"I can't give deadlines because if I knew I would tell you but I don't know. This is how things are now."

Nadal won a record-extending 14th French Open title with a straight-sets victory over Casper Ruud in last year's final.

Andrey Rublev came from a set down against Holger Rune to win the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday, his first Masters 1000 title.

Having done the same in his semi-final against Taylor Fritz, Rublev showed grit and determination to do so again in the final, eventually winning 5-7 6-2 7-5.

Rublev become only the third player in the Open Era to have comeback wins in both the semi-final and final at Monte Carlo after Ivan Lendl (1988) and Ilie Nastase (1971).

Rune started the stronger of the two and forced a break in the sixth game of the first set with two delightful drop-shot winners, only for Rublev to break straight back in the next game.

After throwing away seven of eight break point chances in the first set, it was somewhat inevitable Rublev was unable to save a crucial one on his own serve with Rune at set point, sending a return long to hand the Dane the first frame.

This was Rune's sixth ATP Tour-level final, making him the fifth teenager to pass five since 2000.

Rublev seemed determined not to make the same mistake again as he immediately broke Rune's serve in the opening game of the second set, although he did pass up two chances for a double break before Rune levelled the set at 2-2.

The heat appeared to be affecting both players' service games in a high-octane encounter, but Rublev steadied himself before breaking again and then racing to another as he comfortably secured the second set.

As Rublev had done after dropping the opener, however, Rune responded defiantly and raced out to a 3-0 lead in the decider, but after missing a chance to go 5-1 up, he was broken back as Rublev came back to 4-4.

At 5-5, a tiring Rune twice hit the net with overhead smashes and then had a double fault at break point, leading to a crucial break for the Russian, who then served out the match to clinch the title.

"I know it's tough to lose a final, but you are too freaking young, man, and already have a Masters 1000 title, so give me one time to win it," Rublev joked with a smiling Rune at the trophy presentation.

Andrey Rublev is hoping it will be third time lucky in a Masters 1000 final after setting up a title showdown with Holger Rune in Monte Carlo.

The 25-year-old Russian has 12 tournament wins to his name, but all have come at ATP 500 or ATP 250 level, respectable but lower rungs than this tier.

Rublev lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo in 2021 and to Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati in the same year, as he failed to capitalise on two chances to break his Masters 1000 duck.

Now comes another opportunity on the clay against teenager Rune on Sunday, after both men ground out tough semi-final comeback wins.

Rublev beat Taylor Fritz 5-7 6-1 6-3, while Rune fought back gallantly to overcome Jannik Sinner 1-6 7-5 7-5, with rain delays affected both matches on Saturday.

Rublev is full of appreciation for Rune's game. They met at the last-16 stage of the Australian Open in January, with Rublev winning a marathon clash in a dizzying final-set tie-break.

Their only other previous clash came indoors at the Paris Masters last November, with Rune taking that third-round match in straight sets and going on to win the title as an unseeded player, beating Novak Djokovic in the final.

Rublev said of Rune: "Holger is the guy who runs a lot, and he runs really well. He read the game really well. He's very talented.

"He has a good touch. He doesn't give you any rhythm, because as soon as he has a chance he tries to do drop shots, he tries to hit full power, goes to the net, returns and goes to the net, then serves to the net.

"He doesn't give you rhythm to put pressure on him to play your style."

Rune sees Rublev as a major threat to his prospects of a second title at this level, but the 19-year-old Dane is not short of self-belief.

"I expect for myself to push full. It's the last push, it's the last match of the tournament," Rune said. "Obviously he had three sets as well, so he must be feeling the legs a little bit, I hope.

"It's going to be great. We've played each other twice. It's one-all head to head, so it's going to be interesting, for sure.

"I've just got to stay in the moment, go for it against the best players in the world, and Andrey has been showing that for many years now, he's been top five, six for many years, so I've got to play my best. I've got to take it, because he's not going to give it to me."

Defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas and Daniil Medvedev were both dumped out at the quarter-final stage of the Monte Carlo Masters, with Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune advancing.

Seeded second and third respectively, Tsitsipas and Medvedev began Friday as the tournament's highest-ranked players following Novak Djokovic's shock exit, but both found themselves on the receiving end of comprehensive defeats.

World number three Tsitsipas was the victim as Fritz claimed his first victory over a top-10 ranked player on clay, ending the Greek's 12-match winning run at the competition with a 6-2 6-4 success.

Tsitsipas – who won the event in both 2021 and 2022 – was unable to contain Fritz as the American hit a series of huge winners en route to his third Masters 1000 semi-final.

Fritz will face Andrey Rublev in the final four after the fifth seed saw off the challenge of German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff, posting a 6-1 7-6 (7-5) win.

Meanwhile, Medvedev came up short in his tussle with Rune, as the 19-year-old waltzed into his second Masters 1000 semi-final with a 6-3 6-4 triumph.

"It wasn't easy for sure, it's always tough to play Daniil," Rune said after his win. "It was actually my first time playing against him in a real match, but we've practised tonnes of times. 

"I have huge respect for everything he's done. In the last week it was not easy to stop him, but I'm happy I managed to do it."

Rune now has a 10-8 record in meetings with his fellow top-10 players, and he will have to win another such duel to make the final, with Jannik Sinner his semi-final opponent.

Sinner needed 76 minutes to beat fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-2 6-2, and the 21-year-old now has the chance to reach his third Masters 1000 final, having previously finished as runner-up at two editions of the Miami Open.

Novak Djokovic was "not really in the mood to speak" after suffering a jarring early defeat at the Monte Carlo Masters, but insisted he would bounce back.

The 35-year-old world number one was playing his 50th main-draw match at the tournament, but it did not go to plan as he lost 4-6 7-5 6-4 to Italian Lorenzo Musetti on Thursday.

Djokovic's post-match reaction exposed huge frustration, with his first competitive outing in over a month ending at the last-16 stage.

He was forced to miss the Indian Wells and Miami tournaments last month, being denied permission to enter the United States due to his refusal to accept a COVID-19 vaccination.

Hopes he had of a long run on the Monte Carlo clay have been scuppered, but the Serbian has plenty of time to find form in time for the French Open, which begins on May 28.

Defeat marked the first time Djokovic had failed to reach the quarter-finals in a tournament since last year's Monte Carlo event, when he lost his opening match to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

The loss to Musetti included an argument with the umpire over a line call, while Djokovic also smashed a racket in frustration at one point.

"The feeling is terrible after playing like this, honestly," Djokovic said. "But congrats to him. He stayed tough in important moments, and that's it.

"You always hope for the good day in the office, but I know I'm not playing so great and he's playing very well, so I knew it was going to be a tough match.

"I don't think it's catastrophic, but my feeling is bad right now because I lost the match. It's not a great day for me, so I'm not really in the mood to speak."

Djokovic is a two-time former winner of the ATP 1000 event but has not reached the semi-final stage since 2015, the year he was last champion.

He continues his clay campaign at a low level tournament next week in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Musetti moved on to face fellow Italian Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. Victory over Djokovic made Musetti the first Italian man to beat the world number one in Monte Carlo since 1973, when the ATP rankings began.

Rafael Nadal has confirmed he will not be competing at the Monte Carlo Masters.

Nadal, who has won 11 times in Monte Carlo, had been hoping to make his return from a hip injury at the ATP Masters 1000 event, which starts next week.

The 36-year-old has not played since going out to Mackenzie McDonald in the second round of the Australian Open in January.

Nadal previously cast doubt on his status for Monte Carlo last month, and on Tuesday he announced he will be unable to participate.

"Hi everyone, I'm still not ready to compete at the highest level," Nadal tweeted.

"I will not be able to play in one of the most important tournaments of my career, Monte Carlo.

"I am not yet in a position to play with the maximum guarantees and I continue my preparation process, hoping to return soon."

Nadal's latest setback is another blow in his preparations for the French Open, which starts at the end of May.

The Spaniard, who dominated in Monte Carlo between 2005 and 2012, has slipped down to number 14 in the ATP world rankings.

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