Carlos Alcaraz’s pursuit of his third Madrid Open will have to wait because he has been bitten by the injury bug anew. The Spaniard recently announced his withdrawal from the ATP 1000 tournament, so he’ll lose valuable points and will move a notch down in the ATP rankings.
Alcaraz’s withdrawal is a huge boost to Andrey Rublev’s Madrid Open 2025 odds of repeating, especially since Rublev got a lucky break in the fourth round without even hitting a ball. The Russian international will go all-out in pursuing his second title this year.
Meanwhile, Alexander Zverev is building momentum after suffering an early exit in the Monte-Carlo Masters, making him a dangerous customer in this tournament.
In case you missed it, SBOTOP has you covered with the hot tennis action, as we bring you the latest Madrid Open 2025 updates.
Alcaraz must recharge his batteries
Carlos Alcaraz was forced to retire from the Madrid Open due to a double injury he sustained in the Barcelona Open last week. The 21-year-old Spaniard said he “felt something” in his right adductor and left hamstring.
After beating Lorenzo Musetti in the Monte-Carlo Masters final two weeks ago, Alcaraz competed in Barcelona and made it to the final, eventually losing to Holger Rune in a grueling contest. Alcaraz has played 10 matches in 12 days, and fatigue has crept in.
With the French Open only a few weeks away, withdrawing from the Madrid Open is the right move for Alcaraz since he must be 100-per cent fit ahead of his title defence. Don’t be surprised if Alcaraz doesn’t compete in the Italian Open, which will be in the first week of May.
“I expect to go back to court and start practising in a couple of weeks. Rome is still a possibility, but for sure I’ll be in Paris,” Alcaraz said in a recent press conference. “It’s not an easy decision because Madrid is the first tournament I have ever been to as a young kid, it’s the most special place for me to play. But (prioritising Roland Garros) was a big part of my decision to stop and recover properly.”
Rublev receives early bye
Andrey Rublev’s title defence is off to an auspicious start after he received a walkover over Gael Monfils, who had to retire from the ATP 1000 event due to an illness. The Russian had recently beaten Monfils at the Monte-Carlo Masters in the Round of 32.
Rublev won his first title of the year in the Qatar Open last February, winning against Jack Draper in the final in three sets. But since then, the 27-year-old has never made it past the Round of 16 in his last five tournaments.
“Really great week, great tournament and great memories. I don’t know what else to say. It was a really good moment. It was just in general a nice feeling that doing a different approach and doing different things and a different approach of emotions, approach of habits and everything… it still gives you a good result,” Rublev said back in Doha.
With 1000 points to defend, the world No. 8 must make a deep run in Madrid to avoid falling out of the Top 10 of the ATP rankings. Overall, Rublev enters the ATP 1000 event with an 11-9 record. He will face Alexander Bublik in the Round of 32 tomorrow after the latter ousted Alexei Popyrin in the previous round.
Meanwhile, Felix Auger-Aliassime – Rublev’s final opponent last year – was stunned by Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the Round of 64. The Canadian international hasn’t tasted much success since losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Dubai Tennis Championships final last month.
Zverev slowly regaining form
Alexander Zverev is through to the Round of 32 after cruising to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over home favourite Roberto Bautista Agut last Friday. The German needed only 69 minutes to extend his unbeaten run to six matches. Before this, the world No. 2 was fresh from winning the BMW Open in Munich last week.
Zverev shushed the Madrid crowd by smashing 10 aces with just one double fault. He also won 32 of 42 total service points, never faced break point, and registered a staggering 30-4 advantage in total winners. He will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round.
“This is my favorite center court in the world,” Zverev said post-match. “I only lost twice here in my entire life. I hope that stays (that) way throughout the next 10 days and that I can continue playing good tennis. As long as I do that, I’m happy.”
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