Stefanos Tsitsipas picked up a much-needed win in round one and will try to keep it going against Alexander Bublik on Saturday in Madrid. The second-round schedule also features Daniil Medvedev and Fabian Marozsan.
(8) Alexander Bublik vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas
Bublik and Tsitsipas will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers and for the first time since 2020 when they finally meet again in round two of the Mutua Madrid Open on Saturday. Tsitsipas prevailed twice during the February swing six years ago — 7-5, 6-3 on the indoor hard courts of Marseille and 7-6(1), 6-4 immediately thereafter in Dubai.
They have gone in two different directions since then, and that’s an understatement. Bublik has climbed to No. 11 in the world, while Tsitsipas is all the way down at No. 80. The 27-year-old Greek managed to win a match on Thursday, but it wasn’t a convincing scoreline — he needed a third-set tiebreaker to get past Patrick Kypson. Although you never know what you are going to get from Bublik on any given day, he has played great on clay dating back to last spring and his serve should work extremely well at high altitude.
Pick: Bublik in 2
(7) Daniil Medvedev vs. Fabian Marozsan
Medvedev is another player who can be all over the place. Will we get the Medvedev who got double-bageled by Matteo Berrettini in Monte-Carlo or the one who once captured a Masters 1000 title on clay (Rome in 2023) and has reached the Madrid quarterfinals on back-to-back occasions? In fact, the 30-year-old Frenchman has not lost prior to the fourth round of this tournament since 2021.
Up first for Medvedev on Saturday is a fourth showdown against Maroszan. The world No. 10 has won all three of their previous encounters — in straight sets at the 2024 U.S. Open and the 2025 Almaty ATP 250 and from two sets down at this year’s Australian Open. Marozsan scored a decent victory over Ethan Quinn in round one, but the 50th-ranked Hungarian has not defeated anyone ranked higher than Quinn (No. 48) since Doha in mid-February. Although it’s hard to have much faith in either player, Medvedev may have the edge given his success in this matchup and his relatively encouraging history in Madrid.
Pick: Medvedev in 3