The Mutua Madrid Open is relentless. With the main ATP and WTA competitions now underway, the tournament is now enjoying some thrilling days in the Caja Mágica. Monday will see the continuation of the men’s first round and the first matches in the women’s last sixteen.
In the Manolo Santana Stadium, Grigor Dimitrov will play his first match at the tournament at 11:00. The Bulgarian will face Lloyd Harris, whom he has never played before. Also on the Manolo Santana court, we will see Carlos Alcaraz’s debut in Madrid, as he takes on Mannarino. To close out the day’s play on centre court, not before 20:00, Fernando Verdasco will also play his opener, against Cristian Garín. The veteran Spaniard will be playing in the Spanish capital for the 18th time and this is his second tournament of the year.
Two other Spaniards who will be gracing the courts tomorrow are Carlos Taberner, who came through qualifying to book a date with Fognini. Pablo Carreño will also be playing, against the Argentine Federico Delbonis. They will both be competing in the Arantxa Sánchez Stadium. Finally, in Stadium 3, Pablo Andújar faces his first main-draw match against Marcos Giron, also a qualifier.
Tomorrow, we will also see the first matches in the WTA third round, where Paula Badosa, the only Spaniard left in the competition, will be bidding for a place in the quarters. To get there, she will have to see off Sevastova, who just knocked out seeded player Konta. Badosa will be playing in the Arantxa Sánchez Stadium at no earlier than 17:00.
Other highlights of the day include an all-seeded clash between world number one Ashleigh Barty and No. 17, Iga Swiatek. It promises to be an enticing clash in the Manolo Santana Stadium, where Petra Kvitova, the female player with the most titles in Madrid, will also take on Kudermetova.