MADRID — Power was restored at the Caja Magica tennis complex Tuesday and the Madrid Open resumed with a packed schedule that included second-ranked Iga Swiatek advancing to the quarterfinals after a “more relaxed” day because of the blackout.
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka made into the last eight by defeating Peyton Stearns in straight sets, while on the men’s side, top-seeded Alexander Zverev was upset by 21st-ranked Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.
Following the major blackout that prompted 22 matches to be postponed on Monday, Swiatek returned to the center court and defeated Diana Shnaider 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to stay on track to defend her title in the Spanish capital.
“I liked yesterday. I think the whole world was just more relaxed, kind of, obviously the people who didn’t lose because of this,” she said. “I enjoyed the time off, and I tried to just recover, because we need to savor these free days, for sure.”
Swiatek said she took away food from the tournament site and relaxed at the hotel until the power came back on.
“I just chilled and used that time to not think about what I should do,” she said. “There was no signal, so basically no one used their phones. It was nice, I liked it.”
Most parts of Madrid regained power overnight, but the Caja Magica was still without electricity early Tuesday, causing a delay in the opening of the gates for fans.
The power came back quickly, though, and organizers did not have to alter the day’s schedule of matches, although there was the possibility of the night session being delayed because of the high number of matches during the day.
Swiatek to face Keys
Swiatek cruised in the first set but had to save 11 of 13 break points to seal a hard-fought victory against the 13th-seeded Shnaider.
Swiatek has not lost before the quarterfinals in seven tournaments this season but hasn’t gone past the semifinals since Roland Garros last year. She will next face Madison Keys, who defeated Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3.
It will be Swiatek’s first meeting with Keys since she lost despite having match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open that was won by Keys.
“We played last year here, but I think it was a night session or something,” Swiatek said. “I don’t know, I think it was like colder or a little bit different, so for sure we’ll watch that match.”
Sabalenka reaches last eight again
Sabalenka defeated 44th-ranked Stearns 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the Madrid quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years.
It was the WTA Tour-leading 28th win this season for the two-time Madrid champion. She was tied with Jessica Pegula with 27.
Sabalenka lost last year’s final to Swiatek.
Zverev ousted
Cerundolo defeated the second-ranked Zverev 7-5, 6-3 to continue his quick rise in the rankings.
Cerundolo, who also defeated Zverez last year in Madrid, broke serve once in each set and saved the only break opportunity he conceded at center court.
who also defeated Zverev last year in Madrid.
Zverev was coming off the title in Munich and will move on to defend his title in Rome.
“He played better than me today,” Zverev said. “He definitely played better than me last year when we played here. But to be honest, I didn’t play terrible, he just played better than me.”
Berrettini out with injury
In the men’s side, 31st-ranked Matteo Berrettini withdrew with an abdominal injury after losing the first set 7-6 (2) to sixth-ranked Jack Draper.
Sixth-seeded Alex de Minaur tied Carlos Alcaraz with a tour-leading 24th win this season by getting past Denis Shapovalov 6-3, 7-6 (3).
The seventh-ranked De Minaur will next face Lorenzo Musetti, who beat 2019 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 7-6 (3).
Americans Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe both won their matches. The 11th-seeded Paul defeated Karen Khachanov 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, while the 16th-seeded Tiafoe beat Alexandre Muller 6-3, 6-3.
Paul was among the players having to play doubles on the same day as their singles matches. Another was 19-year-old Jakub Mensik, the Miami winner who defeated Alexander Bublik 6-3, 6-2 before having to play his doubles match on the same court a bit later.
The 27-year-old Bublik joked in a conversation with the match’s referee during a changeover.
“Remember when tennis was easy? Like five years ago it was super easy to play tennis,” the four-time winner on tour said. “A bunch of random people in the top 50, barely moving. Now this guy is not even top 5, not even top 10. What is that?”
Ninth-seed Daniil Medvedev matched his career-best result in Madrid by reaching the last eight with a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over American Brandon Nakashima. Fourth-ranked Taylor Fritz was another American eliminated, losing 7-5, 6-4 to Casper Ruud.
Refunds for ticket holders
There were huge lines outside the complex, and people with tickets for Monday’s matches were not allowed back in on Tuesday.
“Nobody said anything yet,” said Juan Duato, who was denied entry when he arrived on Monday during the power outage. “They said we couldn’t come in and asked us to contact customer support. Apparently they will send us an email.”
Organizers said later Tuesday that anyone who purchased tickets for Monday would receive a full refund for the purchase. That process would be carried out automatically over the next few days.
