Felix Auger-Aliassime, Denis Shapovalov drop 2nd-round matches at Madrid Open

Canadian men Denis Shapovalov and Felix Auger-Aliassime are both out of the Madrid Open singles tournament after second-round losses on Saturday.

Montreal's Auger-Aliassime fell to Dusan Lajovic of Serbia in three sets, 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (5).

Lajovic handily won the first set, but Auger-Aliassime responded with a comfortable win of his own in the second. Lajovic then took the third set in a tiebreak.

Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., lost to China's Zhang Zhizhen, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (1).

WATCH | Shapovalov ousted by Zhang in 2nd round:

Shapovalov ousted in Madrid Open 2nd round

2 years ago

Duration 1:54

China's Zhang Zhizhen upset number 21 seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(1) in the second round of the Madrid Open.

Both players remain in Madrid as a doubles duo. They play Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Great Britain's Lloyd Glasspool in the Round of 16 on Sunday.

Lajovic needed six match points to finish off ninth-ranked Auger-Aliassime, improving his career record against him to 3-0.

It was his third win in a row over top-10 opponents after he beat top-ranked Novak Djokovic and No. 6 Andrey Rublev on his way to winning the Banju Luka title last week.

Auger-Aliassime, who hit 12 aces and 11 double faults, saved two match points in his final service game in the third set, and another three match points in the tiebreaker before Lajovic struck a decisive forehand winner.

"It was super tight at the end," the 32-year-old Lajovic said. "To win 7-6 in the third is really good for my confidence."

WATCH | Auger-Aliassime upset by red-hot Lajovic in Madrid Open 2nd round:

Auger-Aliassime upset by red-hot Lajovic in Madrid Open 2nd round

2 years ago

Duration 3:16

After winning an ATP 250 tournament in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina on Sunday, Serbia's Dusan Lajovic upset Montreal's Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5) in the second round of the Madrid Open.

Lajovic will next take on Jan-Lennard Struff after the German rallied to beat American Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5.

Second-seeded Daniil Medvedev advanced to the third round of the Madrid Open after beating qualifier Andrea Vavassori 6-4, 6-3 on Saturday in the Russian's first match of the tournament.

The third-ranked Medvedev leads the men's circuit with four titles won this season, all on hard courts. He is now 32-4 on the year.

Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas fought back to beat Dominic Thiem 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (5). Tsitispas landed 39 straight first serves from late in the first set to early in the third, according to the ATP.

Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe, seeded eighth and ninth, respectively, also advanced along with Alex de Minaur.

In the women's draw, second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka defeated No. 115 Camila Osorio 6-4, 7-5.

Medvedev is considered the top challenger to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who fought back to beat Emil Ruusuvuori in three sets in his opener on Friday.

Medvedev, however, said he is keeping his expectations in check given the surface is not his best.

"I will try my best as always," Medvedev said. "Today I felt very good on the court, and on the rallies I was in control and that is very important on clay."

The 164th-ranked Vavassori upset two-time Madrid winner Andy Murray in the previous round.

The Italian played well early on and forced Medvedev to save three break points. But the former U.S. Open winner took control by breaking his opponent on his last service game of the first set.

The match was briefly paused for a rain shower, which was well received in Madrid which like the rest of Spain is enduring a prolonged drought.

Sabalenka eyes 2nd event title in 3 years

Medvedev will next face qualifier Alexander Shevchenko, who beat Jiri Lehecka 6-1, 6-1.

Also, Jan-Lennard Struff rallied to beat American Ben Shelton 4-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5.

Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion, is trying to reclaim the title she won in 2021.

The Belarus player was in charge for most of the match except for a dip in her form after Osorio needed a medical timeout when down 4-1 in the second set. Sabalenka struggled with her serve but was able to close out the victory.

Home favourite Paula Badosa gave the locals what they wanted by knocking out sixth-seeded Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-0.

Jelena Ostapenko was thrashed by Liudmila Samsonova, who soared to a 6-2, 6-0 win over the former French Open winner.

Irina-Camilia Begu defeated Shelby Rogers 7-6, 6-2, while Elise Mertens beat Jule Niemeier 6-3, 6-4.

Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva found the perfect way to celebrate her 16th birthday by continuing her breakout showing with a two-set win over Magda Linette.

Andreeva thrust her arms high after winning a long exchange that ended with her breaking Linette's serve for a fourth time to secure the decisive point of her 6-3, 6-3 victory.

Linette, an Australian Open semifinalist, became the latest player to be upset by the upstart Andreeva.

Earlier this week, the still-15-year-old Andreeva stunned Canada's Leylah Fernandez to become the third youngest player to win a main-draw match at a WTA 1000 tournament. She followed that up by beating 14th-ranked Beatriz Haddad Maia.

Her next challenge? Sabalenka in the round of 16.