Novak Djokovic Delivers

Novak Djokovic said that his straight-sets win over Gael Monfils in Madrid on Tuesday was his best performance as he set up a match with Andy Murray, the second seed. This victory at the Caja Magica means that the 20-time major winner will stay at the top of the rankings for at least another week. Djokovic needed to win their second-round match against the Frenchman to keep the top spot from going to Daniil Medvedev, who came in second. Djokovic had a 17-0 head-to-head record against the Frenchman.

READ MORE: Raducanu said she did not expect to win against Kalinina in Madrid

“I would say that it was the best performance of the year, and I would say that. I felt great on the court, “Djokovic said.

Because, you know, until today, I wasn’t playing my best tennis in the few tournaments I had played this year and was still trying to get into a rhythm, find my groove.

Before this season, the three-time Madrid winner hadn’t played very often. After finishing second in his home tournament, he came to Madrid, which he won.

Saved three break points in his first two service games before he took over the match and won the first set in 47 minutes.

He had to save two break points as he served for the match, but he still won and will play Andy Murray in the last 16. In the second round, Djokovic beat Denis Shapovalov 6-1, 3-6, 6-2.

It will be the first time Djokovic and Murray have met since the final in Doha in January 2017.

It should be impossible for Murray to win the match because he’s number one globally, and he has a metal hip. Murray is 11-25 against Djokovic in his career.

“A great chance for me to see where my game is and play him again. We’ve had a lot of fights over the years at some of the most important tournaments in the world.”

It was Carlos Alcaraz’s first win as a top-10 player. He beat Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia 6-3, 7-5 to open his account in Madrid.

The Spanish teen sensation, who has a joint ATP lead of three titles this season, has now won six straight matches. He took the trophy in Barcelona 10 days ago.

Seventh seed Alcaraz, who turns 19 on Thursday, faces Cameron Norrie or John Isner in the last 16 and could face Rafael Nadal in the previous eight.

– Rublev is still alive, Raducanu is out.

Sixth seed Andrey Rublev had to fight back from 0-3 in the final set to beat British wildcard Jack Draper 2-6, 6-4, 7-5.

It took the world number eight a while to get past left-handed Draper, ranked 121 and made his ATP clay-court debut in Madrid. The Russian dropped serve twice in the first set and lost an early lead in the second before squeezing past him.

Anhelina Kalinina played hard to beat US Open champion Emma Raducanu 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 and reach the last eight of a WTA 1000 event for the first time.

The 37th-ranked Kalinina beat a Grand Slam winner for the third time. She beat Sloane Stephens and Garbine Muguruza in the first two rounds, then beat Raducanu in the third round.

Kalinina says, “I want to give a big thank-you to Emma for her first game in Madrid because I think we both played very well.”

Andreescu’s run ended when she lost to American 12th seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets 7-5 and 6-1.

Andreescu tried to serve in the first set, but he was broken. In the middle of the changeover, she had a nosebleed at 6: 5. She saved four set points on serve in game 12, but she lost the fifth when Pegula took the lead.

Pegula won in less than two hours, even though there was a rain delay in the second set. She will play Sara Sorribes Tormo, a favourite at home.

During the Madrid Open, Sorribes Tormo became the fourth woman from Spain to make it to the last eight. She had to get past Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Naomi Osaka first, then beat Daria Kasatkina in three sets on Tuesday.