Madrid Open 2026 Day Four Recap

Day Four at the Mutua Madrid Open was another fairly typical early-round day, with most top seeds advancing, though a few notable upsets and dramatic moments kept things interesting.

The standout match was Terence Atmane’s gritty two-tiebreak win over 30th seed Ugo Humbert, where Atmane fought through severe cramps to somehow close out the victory.

Elsewhere, qualifier Alexander Blockx upset Brandon Nakashima, young Norwegian Nicolai Budkov Kjær thrashed Denis Shapovalov, and Stefanos Tsitsipas looked much sharper in a solid straight-sets win over eighth seed Alexander Bublik.

Second seed Alexander Zverev had a mid-match lapse but recovered to beat Mariano Navone, while defending champion Casper Ruud cruised past Jaume Munar.

Here are the notable results from Day 4:

Day Four 2026 Madrid Open Round of 64 Results

Winner	Loser	Score
Stefanos Tsitsipas	(8) Alexander Bublik	6-2 7-5
Daniel Mérida (Q)	(26) Corentin Moutet	6-3 6-4
(20) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina	Pablo Carreño Busta (WC)	6-3 6-3
(12) Casper Ruud	Jaume Munar	6-0 6-1
(16) Francisco Cerúndolo	Yannick Hanfmann	6-1 7-5
(18) Luciano Darderi	Juan Manuel Cerúndolo	6-1 6-3
Alexander Blockx	(28) Brandon Nakashima	3-6 6-3 6-4
(3) Felix Auger-Aliassime	Vilius Gaubas (Q)	6-3 6-4
(7) Daniil Medvedev	Fabian Marozsán	6-2 6-7(3) 6-4
Nicolai Budkov Kjær (Q)	(31) Denis Shapovalov	6-2 6-1
(13) Karen Khachanov	Adam Walton	6-2 6-3
(23) Jakub Menšík	Martin Damm (Q)	6-3 6-4
(10) Flavio Cobolli	Camilo Ugo Carabelli	6-7(7) 6-1 6-4
Terence Atmane	(30) Ugo Humbert	7-6(3) 7-6(5)
Adolfo Daniel Vallejo (Q)	(17) Learner Tien	6-4 6-3
(2) Alexander Zverev	Mariano Navone	6-1 3-6 6-3

Match Recap

Terence Atmane def. (30) Ugo Humbert 7-6(3) 7-6(5)

This was the most compelling match of the day. Atmane pulled off a gritty upset over his fellow Frenchman in two tiebreaks. He served for the match at 5-3 in the second set but suddenly suffered severe cramps, collapsing to the ground in pain and looking barely able to move.

Somehow, he hung on, winning the tiebreak from a 2-5 deficit despite barely being able to serve or run. Humbert contributed heavily to his own downfall with a ton of unforced errors (49 in the match) and a poor serving day (only 53% first serves in).

Alexander Blockx def. (28) Brandon Nakashima 3-6 6-3 6-4

The 20-year-old Belgian qualifier came back from a set down to upset the seeded American in a competitive three-setter. He now gets a tough third-round assignment against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Nicolai Budkov Kjær (Q) def. (31) Denis Shapovalov 6-2 6-1

A very one-sided thrashing by the young Norwegian qualifier. Shapovalov had no answers as Budkov Kjær cruised through in straight sets in just 53 minutes. 

Adolfo Daniel Vallejo (Q) def. (17) Learner Tien 6-4 6-3

The Paraguayan qualifier kept his strong Madrid run going with another clean, straight-sets win.

(2) Alexander Zverev def. Mariano Navone 6-1 3-6 6-3

Zverev looked dominant in the first and third sets but completely lost focus in the second, dropping it 3-6. He admitted afterwards that he “lost focus completely” but was happy with the level in the sets he won. He’ll face Atmane next.

With Alcaraz missing, Zverev should be looking to capitalise.

(12) Casper Ruud def. Jaume Munar 6-0 6-1

The defending champion was brutal, dropping only a few games against the home player, who appeared physically struggling as he arrived with virtually no serve or forehand. So hard to say if Ruud is over his calf injury, but quick matches like this can only help.

Stefanos Tsitsipas def. (8) Alexander Bublik 6-2 7-5

This was a strong, confident performance from Tsitsipas and easily one of his best wins of a difficult 2026 season so far.

After needing three tough sets to scrape past lucky loser Patrick Kypson in the first round (where he was two points from defeat), the Greek looked much sharper against the dangerous eighth seed.

He dominated the first set 6-2 with aggressive baseline play and solid returning, then held his nerve in the second set to close it out 7-5 in just 1 hour and 13 minutes.

Bublik, who can be unpredictable on any surface, never really found his rhythm or his big-serving weapons on the high-bouncing Madrid clay.

I was in two minds about what to expect from this one; part of me thought Tsitsipas might have gained some momentum after his Kypson win, the other thought he would struggle to win enough return points.

The former proved correct, and this victory should give Tsitsipas a much-needed confidence boost 

Highlights

Soon.

Madrid Open 2026 Day Five Round of 32 Matches