The Madrid Open continued to tick along with an epic match in the women\u2019s draw and here\u2019s all the news you may have missed on Monday.<\/p>\n
Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka play out entertaining battle<\/p>\n
The match of the day was undoubtedly Sabalenka v Osaka with the World No 1 overcoming a first-set scare to win in Madrid.<\/p>\n
But Sabalenka showed her class in the second, winning 6-3, which took the momentum out of Osaka and the deciding set finished 6-2.<\/p>\n
After, she praised her opponent who returned from maternity leave.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s such an inspiration and coming back out of pregnancy in sport like tennis, it\u2019s not that easy at all. And to see her back in the top 20, for sure, she\u2019s going towards the top 10. It\u2019s incredible. It\u2019s inspiring,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
You can read more on that match here<\/a><\/p>\n Iga Swiatek shares message after Madrid retirement<\/p>\n World No 4 Swiatek shared a message after she was forced to retire at the 2026 Madrid Open on what she described as \u201ca real rough day.\u201d<\/p>\n The six-time Grand Slam champion retired due to a virus when trailing 6-7(4), 6-2, 0-3 against world No 34 Ann Li in the third round in Madrid.<\/p>\n You can read her message here.<\/a><\/p>\n Jannik Sinner discusses potential Madrid Open skip<\/p>\n Everything is looking pretty rosy right now for World No 1 Sinner who is on a mission to produce one of the greatest clay swings of all time.<\/p>\n Ahead of the French Open, he is progressing nicely in Madrid and discussed whether he ever considered skipping the tournament after a packed schedule.<\/p>\n \u201cI mean, yes and no,\u201d the four-time major champion replied. \u201cWhen I won, or when I finished there in Monaco, I said, you know, in three, four days we decide if we play or if we don\u2019t play.<\/p>\n \u201cI woke up quite good body-wise. I was like, why not? So we go here, we try how my body feels.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more on that story here<\/a><\/p>\n Lorenzo Musetti identifies \u2018big difference\u2019 between Madrid Open and other clay tournaments<\/p>\n Speaking of players going well in Madrid, Musetti is enjoying his best ever performance at the venue and is through to the round of 32.<\/p>\n Asked why this particular tournament has been kind to him, the Italian highlighted the altitude.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big difference this tournament has compared to others is the altitude, as here we play at 500 to 600 meters,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s not really the clay that changes.<\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, the conditions suit my game very well. I like it when the ball takes the spin I want with my backhand or serve, and I feel the ball spins a lot here, and the slice works very well too.\u201d<\/p>\n Read more on Musetti here<\/a><\/p>\n Stefanos Tsitsipas subjected to heavy criticism<\/p>\n It\u2019s not been a good year for Stefanos Tsitsipas so far and it comes at a time when he has sunk to 80th in the world.<\/p>\n While Madrid is going well so far, the Greek was slammed by Jim Courier who suggested he has not fixed obvious errors in his game.<\/p>\n \u201cFor too long, the weaknesses in his game have remained,\u201d Courier said on the Tennis Channel. \u201cHis slice backhand, inadequate.<\/p>\n \u201cHis backhand return, inadequate. His inability on other surfaces to recognise that he should be standing back to hit second serve returns so he can hit more forehands, that\u2019s a failure.\u201d<\/p>\n You can read more on that piece here<\/a><\/p>\n Elena Rybakina falls out with line-calling system<\/p>\n Rybakina may have won her match against Zheng Qinwen but she was left furious with the line-calling system after what she believed was an out serve.<\/p>\n After, the Kazakhstani said she had no \u201ctrust\u201d in the automatic system.<\/p>\n \u201cThe system is wrong, this is not a joke,\u201d Rybakina said. \u201cI won\u2019t trust it at all. Because there was no mark even close to what the TV showed.\u201d<\/p>\n