swiatek-madrid
MADRID (AP) — Top-seeded Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek both brushed aside opponents to advance at the Madrid Open on Saturday.
Sinner downed fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-0, 6-3 in the second round to improve to 5-0 against his countryman. The Australian Open champion had a first-round bye.
Sinner will next face either Jordan Thompson or Pavel Kotov. He is chasing his fourth title of the season after winning at Melbourne Park and in Rotterdam and Miami — all hard-court events. Just one of his 13 career titles has come on clay, at the Croatia Open in 2022.
Swiatek likewise made quick work of Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 6-1 to reach the women’s round of 16.
The top-ranked Swiatek, who lost last year’s final to Aryna Sabalenka, improved her record this season to 26-4. She will next face either Victoria Azarenka or Sara Sorribes Tormo on Monday for a spot in the final eight.
Swiatek is preparing to make a run for a third consecutive title at the French Open next month. She is a three-time champion at Roland Garros (2020, ‘22, ’23).
The Madrid Open is the only European clay tournament at the 500 level or above the Polish player has yet to win.
Fifth-seeded Maria Sakkari ended Sloane Stephens’ seven-match winning run with a 6-1, 6-3 win over the American.
On the men’s side, Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro upset Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4 in the second round.
The seventh-ranked Tsitsipas fell to Monteiro, ranked 118th, after having run up a 10-1 record on clay going into the match. Tsitsipas won Monte Carlos early this month before reaching the final of Barcelona last week.
“I had a very good opponent on the other side of the net,” Tsitsipas said. “He was coming up with great shots and punishing me every single time I played short.”
Rafael Nadal faces Alex de Minaur later.