A busy Friday schedule features the 2023 Madrid Open debuts of many top names.
The day’s most star-powered matchup sees recent Monte Carlo champion Andrey Rublev take on three-time Major champ Stan Wawrinka. Also, the top seeds in both the men’s and women’s singles draws, Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek, will play their opening matches, as will Elena Rybakina, Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, and many others.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Stan Wawrinka vs. Andrey Rublev (5) – Not Before 1:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Rublev is 21-9 this year, and 8-1 on clay. Two weeks ago, he achieved his first Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo. And just a week later, he advanced to another final in Banja Luka. Andrey is only 3-2 lifetime in Madrid, having advanced to the quarterfinals a year ago.
Wawrinka is 11-8 this season, and just 2-2 on clay. On Wednesday, he outlasted Maxime Cressy in a third-set tiebreak to advance. Stan was a finalist in Madrid 10 years ago, losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He’s now 17-13 at this event.
Wawrinka leads their head-to-head 2-1, with all three meetings taking place on a hard court. However, they haven’t played since 2020, and Rublev is currently playing with more confidence than ever before. On Friday, Andrey should be favored to even this rivalry at 2-2.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Emil Ruusuvuori – Not Before 4:00pm on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium
Alcaraz is now 23-2 on the year with three titles, including one just last week in Barcelona, where he didn’t drop a set. Carlitos is the defending champion in Madrid, as a year ago he had a career-defining run, when he defeated Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic on back-to-back days. And even though the semifinal with Djokovic lasted over three-and-a-half hours, he came back the next day to easily dispatch of Sascha Zverev in the final.
Ruusuvuori is 14-11 this season at tour level, and now 3-1 on clay. He upset Frances Tiafoe last week in Barcelona, and took out Ugo Humbert in the first round of Madrid on Wednesday. This is his main draw debut at this event.
Their only previous encounter occurred two years ago in Madrid, when Emil defeated Carlitos 7-5 in the third. However, at the time, Alcaraz was still ranked outside the world’s top 100. Now ranked No.2, the Spaniard is a significant favorite to avenge that loss at his country’s biggest tournament.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Casper Ruud (3) vs. Matteo Arnaldi (Q) – Ruud is a modest 11-8 on the year, but did win a clay court title earlier this month in Estoril. Arnaldi is a 22-year-old Italian who won a Challenger title on clay that same week.
Anna Kalinskaya vs. Elena Rybakina (7) – Rybakina is a superb 24-6 in 2023, but had to retire mid-match last week in Stuttgart with a lower back injury. Kalinskaya was a quarterfinalist earlier this month in Charleston on clay, though she lost to Elena 6-3 in the third last month in Miami.
Alycia Parks vs. Victoria Azarenka (15) – Azarenka is 12-8 this season, and reached back-to-back finals in Madrid back in 2011 and 2012. Parks is a 22-year-old American who claimed her first WTA title earlier this year in Lyon, yet is just 2-7 since.
Jessica Pegula (3) vs. Magdalena Frech (Q) – Pegula is 24-7 this year, and was the runner-up in Madrid a year ago to Ons Jabeur. She’s 1-0 against Frech, having defeated her 6-3, 6-0 two years ago in Chicago on a hard court.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Julia Grabher (LL) – Swiatek is now 20-4 in 2023, and was the champion last week in Stuttgart. Grabher is a 26-year-old Austrian who accumulated 55 match wins last year at all levels.
Alexander Bublik vs. Holger Rune (6) – Rune is 21-8 on the year, and is coming off a title run in Munich, just a week after he was the runner-up in Monte Carlo. Bublik survived a near three-hour first round match on Wednesday, which included a 32-point first set tiebreak. Last September on a hard court in Metz, Bublik beat Rune 6-4 in the third.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
