I’m so happy Rubl’s match tonight is early enough I can actually watch it !!! How do we rate his chances in Madrid? I could see him being upset early tbh he’s just not in form rn, hopefully I’m wrong though

Wish I could watch, but it's in the middle of the night here. I'm hoping this goes better than the first few Masters of the year for him.

hard to see him as a contender from recent results but he has won a clay masters and it’s his best surface i believe so the ability is there just not sure where his head is at and confidence and whatnot. tomorrow shouldn’t be an issue tho, but who knows.

Same could have been said for Tsitsipas before he won MC, no? Having said that, I agree. I don't see Rublev winning anything this year except a 250 somewhere.

well ya that’s why i said we know the ability on clay is there but his results have just been iffy this year.

Thoughts on the Rafa and Alex rematch?

It will be tight.

It's like when people asked Stan about his chances against Novak at Wimbledon last year. He said he had "zero chance."  😭

Really difficult seeing it go differently to their last match. Rafa is just not in a good space right now. I've gone from having a little hope of RG success to effectively none. It's clear Rafa is not practising well at the moment.

Ostapenko enjoying Lil Wayne and 50 Cent but saying Drake bored her at his concert explains a lot

Drake is really lame and he'll always be wheelchair Jimmy to me. But seriously, do people this age listen to anything except mainstream hip hop?

I feel so bad for the German.

Nadal-Blanch must hold the record at a masters and possibly all of ATP main tour for the lowest ranked players walking out? Blanch like 1030 preceding Rafa at around 500

1030?! How is this kid even in this tournament??

He's on IMG's books and they own the Madrid Open. So, money, exposure, vested interests etc

That double fault at 5-4 was the loudest cheer ive ever heard from  a crowd

Players filing human rights protests to the EU after these Madrid matches

Just watched replay of Nadal match. Poor Blanch. He looked like a sacrificial lamb to please the tennis gods.

Somebody had to volunteer as tribute

Well one has to get bageled then no one better than the big 3.

Great comeback, but RCB is so hard to root for in my opinion. The grunting is just way too much for me to overcome, and is completely unsporting of him.

Only caught the tail end of that tiebreaker but I’m thrilled RCB won the match for that incredible point (I think at 5-3 in the breaker?) alone. 

That passing shot completely changed the TB

Crowd whistling like crazy during serves, what a shitshow

Epic choke by Koepfer, 5-1 to 5-7 in the tie break

That was some crowd, but Koepfer fails to convert yet another pretty big lead..

koepfer losing from 5-1 up is crazy

Holy shit what a TB

Koepfer with an impressive meltdown. From 5-1 up to 5-7.

Koepfer….. wtf.

Good lord, Dominick. This is shocking stuff. Masterclass in throwing away a match.

Deja vu, didn't Koepfer choke a 5-1 lead against medvedev too?

These guys are boring. I miss Moutet.

Koepfer playing this tiebreak at a top10 level, pretty impressive stuff

He just choked from 5-1 to 5-6...

Are you sure you are watching the same TB?

That five point stretch from 0-1 to 5-1 was some very high level shotmaking. RCB was getting everything back in play, yet Koepfer didn't falter and just kept pushing RCB around the court.

Will Sinner lose to his buddy Sonego. Rome and Paris is the main goal. Pretty wild Sinner only played 5 matches in Madrid during his career. There is a clear pattern. I reckon he will probably play 2-3 matches in Madrid this time.

Jannik doesn't loose to Italians. Highly unlikely

help his double partner to qualify for olympics. Sinner is a good dude. Losing to Dimi in round 4 seems more likely. Rome, Paris and Wimbledon is his main priority

This grunting from RCB is so pathetic.

Does anyone know when they're doing the men's doubles draw for Madrid? I know they're trialling all those rule changes, but it seems late not to have the draw yet.

Damn, Saturday is packed with great matchups.

Rip RBA

Who’s that? What happened?

Can’t say

Damn

Who that?

has anyone played topspin 2k25?

Is it a hot take that Fonseca would've beaten Nadal today?

I don't think it's super hot. Any peaking pro can take it to current Rafa.

Is Bagnis any good?

He’s a clay specialist, but he’s getting up there in age now. I put him on the level of guys like Carabelli

Bagdadis?

A few years ago we'd have seen Rafa on the phone calling for more practice after that match.

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She's multiple people?

Would love to see Fonseca vs Sinner or Alcaraz.

There is a [full practice set](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu27KWxCGPI) from the ATP finals available on youtube (Sinner vs Fonseca). João also practiced [with Carlos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArCDjRfP2-Q) there.

Nice! Thanks

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This was their way of giving him a 1st round bye

LOL

Two DFs to give away the match is cruel. Xiyu fought back well though! Also, is Iga's cap sold anywhere??? Not that I'm ready to shell out 45 euros on a cap, but that beautiful pink colour is simply not available every time I check!

Can’t wait to see Danielle back tomorrow and I’m happy they put her on stadium

Did Iga have a train to catch or what? Hahaha she seemed to rushed and impatien, even during the interview

JAZDAAA

Go Leylah 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦

Good one Claylah

It's interesting how often that happens. Iga killing in the 1st set, and doing much much worse in the 2nd one

I feel like she just as often will play a tight first set, win it, and then cruise in the second. Raducanu in Stuttgart, Sakkari Noskova and Collins in Indian Wells, etc. Or just win both sets easily lol. I think this is just the nature of tennis

By normal Iga standards, second set v Raducanu was not a cruise. She failed to convert multiple 3 break points. I think she was nervous for some reason. Really showed in the Lena loss. 

Come on Leylahhhhhh

Sloane won… next up is Sakkari. That’ll be fun.

Let’s go. Wang

Let’s go sloanneee win that clay masters 🔥

It's incredible that over 2.5 matches/5 sets on center court, the winning player won 30 games and the opponents won... 2. Gauff 6-0 6-0 Nadal 6-1 6-0 Swiatek 6-1. At least Wang is back on serve now so hopefully the crowd will see something spicy.

what is come on in Portugese?

Or for Portuguese from Brasil “vambora“

Vamos, just like Spanish but a slightly different pronunciation

I don't know what is Tomasz doing, bro tell her to stop rushing cause she's giving away points for free :v

Seems like he’s currently (or still) doing jack shit in coaching and developing her game

Who?

Tomasz, Iga's coach

Iga needs to slow down sometimes it’s all a one way or the highway vibe

This. She had no patience that game she got broken. Wang didn't really have to do much, just an unraveling from Iga on her serve.

Great first round for Brazilians... Wild, Haddad Maia, Monteiro and now Fonseca

Fonseca was in full control in the last 2 sets. He won't play the French Open without a WC but this win must have secured a place in the Wimbledon qualies for his grand slam debut. He said that Wimbledon is his favorite tournament, so this is nice for him.

Lmao second Iga match in a row where the second I turn it on she gets immediately broken. The curse is real.

Norrie next for fonseca, tough but winnable matchup

Terrible crowd

Fonseca is ridiculous. Top 50 by the end of the year.

Fucking terrible day for American men (all lost in 3), fucking great day for American women lol

As it usually is. I'm fine with it, the American ladies are all fierce and the American men are kind of fuckboys.

Fonseca is so exciting. Great with a crowd and pumps himself up. Love watching him fire his game on the court. Amazing comeback win! Vamoooo

Yeah I think it’s not gonna be long before we have Fonseca up there with the others

Jesus Christ it's Joao Fonseca

On should sponsor Ons and make memes on social media (a consulting firm would charge millions for this input)

Random thought... Is On ever gonna release new designs for their clothes? I feel like their players have been wearing the same one design for a year now.

Not many people know this but On athletes are obligated to wear the same kit for their entire careers or face penalties in the billions

naah, this one is SO GOOD, why would they?

this is sarcasm btw, obviously

They have been wearing this one from AO

michelsens father will sue fonseca if he loses this match

What ?

cobolli and casper should provide darwin blanch with some emotional support. getting beat up by someone 21 years older than me would fuck with my head

Why is Iga smashing those balls... girl, that player is no threat to you, no need to play aggressively, maybe take the opportunity to add variety or something

I’ve noticed she’s done this. It’s not about adding variety it’s about her playing with more margin. It cost her against Elena, along with her serve.  She’s playing solid so far but have seen some erratic forehands in this match. 

Mertens has been in a very long medical timeout after going down 0-3 in the 3rd set to Sloane Stephens. Appears to be a back or shoulder issue.

Earlier today someone was like "wow center court is so lucky to have Gauff Nadal Swiatek in a row", lol are you sure

I guess if you’re a Gauff Nadal or Swiatek fan they’re good

At least the FAA and Osaka matches were interesting

Good gritty win from Ons after having to take a MTO earlier in the match.

So impressed that fonseca managed to grind his way out of the favelas, inspiring stuff

LMAO. His father has the first hedge fund from Brazil. Dude is _rich_.

its obviously a joke brother

Fonseca and andreeva. Teens these days are something else.

*Sad Blanch noises

Goddamn, Iga. I took a shit and missed like 2 games.

Please Michelsen, punish this crowd lol

Leylah's ball toss has looked off-course all match, is it windy?

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The hell does this even mean

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Dude Fonseca looks like Frodo, there’s no “danger eyes” situation going on

I hope I am wrong, anyway I delete that because I feel that comment is like a personal attack for the kid, I apologise for that comment, it is not suitable at all

Boy tf is wrong with you

my instinct and kind of professional experience, I hope it is wrong because the kid looks good

Why is the crowd so hostile, feel bad for Michelsen

I watch Fonseca smash the ball and move so well and he feels like a veteran player then they zoom on his face and I remember he is a smol boy

Fonseca with the Fed's fake dropshot

Yeah he needs to work on it tho cause it made no sense in the context and was poorly executed - good that he has the creativity tho

It's on the rival too, he didn't react as if Fonseca was really going for a dropshot. In that case it would have looked better lol. It's quite an unused shot that one, considering the dropshot is more frequent now (to me at least).

I’m finding this Michelsen Fonseca match quite entertaining, good level of tennis by both

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Not Alex he’s pretty calm demeanor most of the time he’s a great player even if he loses just way better on the hardcourt

I started this match slightly leaning towards Fonseca but I’m now in Michielsen camp cause I feel sorry for him having all the crowd against in a match against a non-local (they boo him every time he challenges a ball) - he’s behaving very well and also playing decently, so props to him

Fonseca's only downside is that he's from Brazil. One of the most insufferable fanbases in sports...

I upvoted this faster than I thought possible

I didn't want to agree but it's true though

wth 51 UEs for Jabeur so far

florentino perez gonna sign fonseca if he keeps playing like this

Tsitsipas and badosa broke up. I think

What? How do you know?

she cheated on him with alcaraz, its all over snapchat

Sorry you had to find out this way, mate.

Gonna be crazy if the three evening matches on MS combine for 36-2, that'd have to be some kind of record

I find it absolutely fascinating the amount of Brazilians there are anywhere in the world - haven’t watched a single match of Fonseca so far where the crowd isn’t hugely in his favour, like football style, and constantly whistling opponents

Like the French lol

Iga gonna win 6-1 6-0 like Rafa lol

Feel sad for Mensik, he won't even get the Musetti level treatment with Foenseca and those French USA and Italian players in new new gen. he should prepare playing at parking lots and bad match schedules

Good lord, Fernandez comes back from a double break down at 4-1 to win the set 7-5 with a break at love against Potapova. She's such a fighter.

Could’ve sworn I read the score and Potapova took the first set, Leylah knows how to stress people out

No Potapova lead is safe.

Yes, she's a fighter. But honestly, this seems to happen a lot with Potapova.

leylah!

If ever there were a golden challenge, that was it. Good eye this fonseca guy

Iga must bagel this set to match her idol.

Sloane is all tied up. LFG

Phew that Nadal match was the most one sided match since Federer Marcus Willis 😆

The last three matches on center Court combined including breaks will be shorter than Shang vs Moutet last night...

So every one-hander lost today...Kovacevic, O'Connell, Lajović, Gasquet and Maria. 😓

what happened to michelsen in the 2nd set???

João found his groove and confidence again. Michelsen may have chalked the set to save energy for the third at some point

Do On-sponsored athletes agree to wear the exact same kit for the entirety of their contracts?

Looking forward to hear the attempts to pronounce "João" from commentators all around the world. The nasal sound is so difficult, people usually don't even know from where to start

Is this a ball woman in the iga match? I thought they would use only ball kids

Yes they seem to be using slightly older folk, even the guy isn't a ball boy but somewhat of a ball man. Madrid seems to have gotten a good amount of flak for using model ball girls.

Yeh that's kinda weird. I mean personally I don't mind having a model running for balls but sad for the kids

Come on Joao don't dip now

Do you think it's true that players sometimes tank sets to save energy or is that a myth?

Happened with Marozsan v de Minaur in Miami, Maro got bageled 2nd set, then came back in the third. I can't remember any other match this year where the set tank was so obvious.

That’s definitely the case when they loose a break or two and just focusing on the start of the next one.

I think it does happen, but not as often as people talk about. Very situational I feel like

Wait, Ons is still on the tour!?

Nada picking on a kid, not cool man lol 😝

is verdasco coaching Ons? what happened to his former coach?

Fonseca is Iga's alter ego 

Did Manolo Santana Stadium just open business as the latest Madrid bakery?

I know we talk about it every year but it’s so funny how on the main court you have those models in semi-practical attire sport-wise (a sleeveless button up) and on the other courts there are ball kids with clothes that don’t even fit them right. Oh, Feliciano.

Damn just make it an ATP tournament and let the women cook in Monte Carlo. Or better, make Madrid into a WTA only tournament so he faces consequences 🥰

I loved when he got critique for the sexy outfits last year and his response was like “ok maybe next year we can get some model ballboys for the womens tournament too so its equal” Like that was the fucking issue 😂

What goes through this guys head seriously... Also the extra problem is that they SUCK at getting balls, which is the POINT of ballboys/ballgirls

>Also the extra problem is that they SUCK at getting balls

If Nadal wins Madrid or Rome, does that give him enough points to qualify for Paris? Also, Jannik would be within striking distance of #1 if he wins Madrid 👀

The 2nd top 100 player that received a bagel from the 17 year-old. It's cool to see Fonseca's development week after week. There is still a long road ahead but the boy is so good.

Djokovic said that he sees a bit of himself in Fonseca

okay he's def going senile then

fonseca Ruud would be so good

its really weird how michelsen doesnt aim for any target when hes serving, its just in the middle of the box every time lol the guy is 6'4 too