Federico Delbonis d Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(3) 6-1
Delbonis continued his dream run sweeping Felix off his feet on clay. Funnily enough, this was the exact same score as Cristian Garin d Auger-Aliassime in the first round of the Monte Carlo masters! It may seem a common theme that Felix doesn't quite have what it takes to be a clay maestro yet, but he definitely shows glimpses!
Stefanos Tsitsipas d Matteo Berrettini 7-6(3) 6-2
Tsitsipas was too clinical against an in-form Italian! Despite the return of crowds, it was not enough for the Italian to make a comeback. The Greek God is making waves, and is a strong contender for the French Open this year.
Reilly Opelka d Aslan Karatsev 7-6(6) 6-4
A surprise for all! The Karatsev train halted by another big American. Big servers are a force to be reckoned with, as Isner crumbled a few hearts in Madrid last tournament. Only 1 break in the match, so both players serving well. Very close.
Novak Djokovic d Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-2 6-1
Another clean sweep for the world no1! Nothing too much else to report on. Just another clinical match from the Serb apart from getting broken once.
Rafael Nadal d Denis Shapovalov 3-6 6-4 7-6(3)
The match of the tournament so far! Shapovalov played his best clay tennis to date, moving Rafa around, coming into the net, but most importantly finishing and being clinical from the baseline. The Canadian was up 3-0 in every set, but the Spanish bull, as he does best, fought back to win in a tie breaker. It will be interesting to see if Nadal is tired coming into his next round against Alexander Zverev.
Alexander Zverev d Kei Nishikori 4-6 6-3 6-4
This match also featured 9 breaks of serve throughout, and multiple momentum shifts. Nishikori was stable as usual, but the German served 8 double faults and losing his head a few times in the game. However, when Sascha wants to play at his best, he will, and this is something that he is going to bring to the table facing Rafael Nadal next round.
Andrey Rublev d Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4 6-4
Despite two breaks from the Spaniard, Rublev was too clinical. A classic case of the now generation vs the past generation, a common theme in 2021.
Lorenzo Sonego d Dominic Thiem 6-4 6-7(5) 7-6(5)
A brilliant display from the Italian. Definitely the clay match of his career! Although Thiem isn't in great form, the Italian was able to pounce on this and make the court feel like home. The crowd roared him on at every second, and was a very important factor in this match.