Marino into Round 2 of Madrid Open, fellow Canadian Bouchard makes main draw
Carlos Alcaraz goes for Spanish double; Jabeur, Pliskova join list of absentees
Canada's Rebecca Marino defeated China's Zhu Lin 7-6 (1), 6-4 to advance to the second round of the Madrid Open on Tuesday.
Marino fired 11 aces to just two double faults in the win.
The Vancouver native also broke on three of her eight opportunities and won 73.1 per cent of first-serve points.
Zhu went without an ace and committed five double faults. She also went just 2-of-7 on break-point chances and won 62.3 per cent of first-serve points.
Fellow Canadian Eugenie Bouchard made it into the main draw with a 6-3, 6-2 win over American Elizabeth Mandlik.
Bouchard had four aces without committing a double fault and won 63.9 per cent of first-serve points, compared to just 47.5 from Mandlik.
WATCH | Marino ousted by Gauff at Miami Open in March:
Alcaraz aims to regain No. 1 spot
Carlos Alcaraz gets another chance to defend a title at home in Spain and move closer to regaining the No. 1 ranking.
After winning in Barcelona for a second year in a row last week, the 19-year-old Alcaraz stayed in Spain to try to repeat as Madrid Open champion and practically guarantee a return to the top of the rankings.
Daniil Medvedev will be his top challenger at the clay-court tournament after the withdrawals of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic because of injuries. Defending women's champion Ons Jabeur (calf) and Karolina Pliskova (knee) also won't play in Madrid this year because of injury.
The second-ranked Alcaraz is chasing Djokovic for the No. 1 spot after having traded the top ranking with him three times this season. If he wins the title in Madrid, Alcaraz would only need to play one match in Rome to be back at No. 1. The Spaniard can also get back to the top by playing at least one match in Madrid and winning in Rome.
Alcaraz had never successfully defended a title until winning the Barcelona Open this year, which gave him his third title of the season and ninth overall in his impressive young career. He was the first player to repeat as Barcelona champion since Nadal won there three times in a row from 2016-18.
'I've grown as a player and person'
"I'm a bit tired after Barcelona, but the focus is already on this tournament [in Madrid]," Alcaraz said. "I've gained a lot of experience since my win here last year. I've grown both as a player and as a person. I'm still the same person, but maybe a bit more mature."
Four other players have a chance to become No. 1 heading into the French Open, including Medvedev, who did not play in Madrid last year. The others are Casper Ruud, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev, who would need to do well both in Madrid and Rome.
Tsitsipas lost the Barcelona final to Alcaraz, while Rublev is coming off a title in Monte Carlo and Ruud won in Estoril.
Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, the two highest-ranked players in the world, will be playing in the women's tournament at the Caja Magica ("Magic Box") tennis complex in the Spanish capital.
The tournament was expanded this year, with a bigger main draw and longer schedule.
In the first round of the women's draw on Tuesday, Ana Bogdan rallied to defeat Anna Bondar 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in a match that lasted more than three hours. Sorana Cirstea beat American Lauren Davis 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, while Karolina Muchova defeated Anett Kontaveit 6-2, 6-2.
With files from Tales Azzoni/Associated Press and Reuters
