Madrid (Spain) – Thursday in Madrid will be complemented by the first men’s round and the start of the games in the second phase of the women’s group. And with that, the program will feature three Brazilians, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Thiago Monteiro and João Fonseca, as well as five-time champion Rafael Nadal and world number 1 Iga Swiatek.
Monteiro will be the first to play, at around 7:30 am (Brasília time). The Ceará native plays on court 4 against Serbian Dusan Lajovic. It will be the seventh duel between them, after three victories for each side. But in the ATP main draws, Lajovic leads the record 2-1. The Ceará native came out on top in two recent meetings, in the Vienna qualifier and the Salzburg challenger in 2022.
Bia will play on the same court 4, right after Monteiro’s match. The number 1 in Brazil and 14th in the world debuts against the Italian Sara Errani, former top 5 and currently ranked 100th at 36 years old. Errani, who is coming off a victory over Caroline Wozniacki this Wednesday, leads the record 3-1. But the players haven’t faced each other since 2018. The 27-year-old from São Paulo is also looking for an unprecedented victory in the Madrid bracket in her third appearance.
Fonseca ends round at Stadium 3
Invited by the tournament, João Fonseca closes the program at Stadium 3. The 17-year-old from Rio de Janeiro, who is competing in his first Masters 1000, debuts against the young 19-year-old North American Alex Michelsen, 70th in the ranking, but who has little experience on clay and just one victory on the floor at ATP level.
In addition to Nadal and Iga, Gauff and Osaka also play
The main names on the schedule at the Manolo Santana court, the complex’s main stadium, will be Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek. The Spaniard plays at noon against 16-year-old American guest Darwin Blanch. The Polish woman faces Chinese Xiyu Wang, a 23-year-old left-hander and 52nd in the rankings, in an unprecedented confrontation.
Names like Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff also play in the central stadium. Quara Arantxa Sanchez has among its attractions the Greek Maria Sakkari and the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, champion of the tournament in 2022.
Check out this Thursday’s schedule in Madrid.
Manolo Santana – 6h
Yoshihito Nishioka (JAP) vs. Félix Auger-Aliassime (CAN)
Not before 7:30 am
Naomi Osaka (JAP) vs. [15]Lyudmila Samsonova
[3]Coco Gauff (USA) vs. Arantxa Rus (HOL)
Not before 12pm
[C]Darwin Blanch (USA) vs. [RP]Rafael Nadal (ESP)
Not before 2pm
[1]Iga Swiatek (POL) vs. Xiyu Wang (CHN)
Arantxa Sanchez – 6h
Donna Vekic (CRO) vs. [5]Maria Sakkari (GRE)
[Q]Richard Gasquet (FRA) vs. Lorenzo Sonego (ITA)
Daniel Elahi Galan (COL) vs. [LL]Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)
Not before 12pm
Anna Karolina Schmiedlova (ESL) vs [8]Ons Jabeur (TUN)
Dominik Koepfer (ALE) vs. Roberto Carballes (ESP)
Stadium 3 – 6am
Sara Sorribes (ESP) vs. [16]Elina Svitolina (UCR)
[9]Jelena Ostapenko (LET) vs. [Q]Jessica Bouzas (ESP)
Zhizhen Zhang (CHN) vs. Miomir Kecmanovic (SER)
[Q]Albert Ramos (ESP) vs. Pavel Kotov
Alex Michelsen (USA) vs. [C]João Fonseca (BRA)
Court 4 – 6am
Tomas Machac (TCH) vs. Emil Ruusuvuori (FIN)
Dusan Lajovic (SER) vs. [Q]Thiago Monteiro (BRA)
[11]Beatriz Haddad Maia (BRA) vs. [Q] Sara Errani (ITA)
[Q]Maria Lourdes Carlé (ARG) vs. [17]Veronica Kudermetova
[32]Leylah Fernandez (CAN) vs. Anastasia Potapova
Court 5 – 6am
[23]Victoria Azarenka vs. Tatjana Maria (ALE)
[Q]Emiliana Arango (COL) vs. [31]Dayana Yastremska (UCR)
[C]Alexandra Eala (FIL) vs. [27]Sorana Cirstea (ROM)
[28]Elise Mertens (BEL) vs. Sloane Stephens (USA)
Court 6 – 6am
Alejandro Tabilo (CHI) vs. Flavio Cobolli (ITA)
Christopher O’Connell (AUS) vs. Matteo Arnaldi (ITA)
Yannick Hanfmann (ALE) vs. Jakub Mensik (TCH)
[Q]Aleksandar Kovacevic (USA) vs. [Q]Hamad Medjedovic (SER)
Court 7 – 6am
[18]Madison Keys (USA) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM)
[Alt]Nadia Podoroska (ARG) vs. [19]Emma Navarro (USA)
Court 8 – 6am
Pedro Cachin (ARG) vs. Sebastian Ofner (AUT)
Max Purcell (AUS) vs. Marcos Giron (USA)
