Alcaraz Cruises, Sabalenka Sails: Both Champions Reach Madrid Open Pre-Quarterfinals

Although Carlos Alcaraz passed a "test of fire," he was able to breeze his way into the last 16 as he defeated Thiago Seyboth Wild 2-0 sets. Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka avoided a trio-sets loss against teenager Robin Montgomery to get the last 16 in straight sets.

Two times defending champion Alcaraz was the first winner of the evening, as he defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-3. In the next round Alcaraz will face last year’s runner-up Jan-Lennard Struff, who also played a good game today.

World number three Alcaraz, 20, was out of action for a month due to an issue with his forearm but came back to crush Alexander Shevchenko in the second round and is now in excellent condition just a few weeks before the French Open, the second big Grand Slam event this season.

Sabalenka pushed:

• He had much too much for Seyboth Wild, who had defeated 28th seed Lorenzo Musetti, even though he was still sporting a protective sleeve on his right arm.
• Alexander Zverev, the 2018 and 2021 Madrid winner from Germany, advanced to the round of 16 after defeating Denis Shapovalov of Canada 6-4, 7-5.
• In a difficult match, Andrey Rublev defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 [12/10], 6-4, after falling behind 5-0 in the first set tie-break.
• Women's second place globally Sabalenka prevailed in a two and a half hour battle, 6-4, 6-7 [5/7], 6-1, against the tenacious 19-year-old Montgomery.
• Montgomery steeled herself and fought valiantly in the decisive game, saving three set points before Sabalenka clinched the victory with two breaks.
• After the Czech overcame American Ashlyn Krueger 6-3, 6-1, Rybakina will now play youngster Sara Bejlek in the following round.
• For the second year in a row, Mirra Andreeva made it back to the round of sixteen after defeating Marketa Vondrousova, the Wimbledon winner, 7-5, 6-1.
• The Russian, who turns 17 on Monday, defeated the Czech Republic's world number seven in the second set by a score of 25 points to 9.