Sunday features third round singles matches from both the ATP and WTA draws.
On Saturday, a red-hot Stefanos Tsitsipas was stunned by a talented clay court player from Brazil, Thiago Monteiro. On Sunday, Carlos Alcaraz plays another Brazilian, Thiago Seyboth Wild, who won 56 clay court matches at all levels last season.
Other third round action on Sunday includes 2024 WTa titleholders Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, and Danielle Collins, as well as a WTA matchup between two top 20 seeds who are both having good seasons: Daria Kasatkina and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Sunday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (20) vs. Daria Kasatkina (10) – Not Before 1:00pm on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium
Kasatkina is 17-9 on the year, having reached three finals (Adelaide, Abu Dhabi, Charleston). She’s only 9-7 lifetime in Madrid, and had to come from a-set-and-two-breaks down in the last round against Cristina Bucsa. But clay is certainly Daria’s best surface, as she holds nearly twice as many wins at Roland Garros than any other Major.
Pavlyuchenkova went all the way to the final at Roland Garros just three years ago, then was sidelined by injury in 2022, but returned to the quarterfinals again in 2023. She’s 19-9 this season, and advanced to the semis in Madrid the same year as her French Open final. Anastasia defeated Daria Saville in straight sets on Friday.
Kasatkina is 4-2 against Pavlyuchenkova, and also took their only clay court meeting, which was a straight-set victory at this same tournament a year ago. I expect this contest to be tighter, though I still consider Daria a slight favorite.
Thiago Seyboth Wild vs. Carlos Alcaraz – Not Before 4:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Alcaraz wore a sleeve on his injured right arm in his opening round, after withdrawing from both Monte Carlo and Barcelona due to the injury. But it did not appear to at all impact his performance, as he beat Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 6-1. Carlitos is the two-time defending champion in Madrid, and is on a 12-match win streak at this event.
Seyboth Wild won a total of 61 matches last year at all levels, with only five of those not coming on clay. He reached five Challenger finals on this surface in 2023, winning four of them. Thiago is just 10-11 at tour level in 2024, and lost his first six matches of the year, though he scored a nice win in the last round over Lorenzo Musetti.
In their first career meeting, of course Alcaraz should be favored. But this is a dangerous draw on clay, especially for a player who is not currently at their physical best.
Other Notable Matches on Sunday:
Mayar Sherif vs. Elena Rybakina (4) – Rybakina ousted Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti in straight sets on Friday. On the same day, Sherif upset the 25th seed, Marta Kostyuk. When these players met two years ago in Cincinnati, Elena won in straights.
Andrey Rublev (7) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (27) – Rublev arrived in Madrid on a four-match losing streak, as his on-court outbursts have resulted in a dip in form. Davidovich Fokina is just 9-9 on the year, but the Spaniard did advance to the fourth round of this event a year ago. Andrey is 3-0 against Alejandro, which includes two clay court victories.
Marketa Vondrousova (7) vs. Mirra Andreeva – The Wimbledon champ is now 4-1 on clay in 2024, and she upset Sabalenka in Stuttgart a week ago. Andreeva came from a set down to eliminate another Czech player, Linda Noskova, on Friday.
Robin Montgomery (WC) vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka overcame Magda Linette in three sets on Friday, while Montgomery, a 19-year-old lefty, ousted Katie Boulter.
Danielle Collins (13) vs. Jaqueline Cristian (Q) – Collins is now on a 14-match win streak, after surviving a third-set tiebreak in the last round. Cristian came through qualifying and has won four matches to reach this stage, which included an upset of Roland Garros champ Barbora Krejcikova.
Denis Shapovalov (PR) vs. Sascha Zverev (4) – Zverev comfortably defeated Borna Coric in his opening round. Shapovalov is currently ranked outside the top 100, as he’s struggled with injury since last season, but he earned an impressive win on Friday over Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Sascha leads their head-to-head 5-3, and claimed their only meeting on this surface.
Sunday’s full Order of Play is here.
