Sinner battles through in Madrid to begin quest for Masters record, Rybakina survives scare

[p]The Italian world number one is looking to beat the record of four consecutive triumphs held by all-time greats Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal this week in the Spanish capital.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Sinner[/a] dropped only one set on the way to trophies in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, but [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bonzi-benjamin/M5OpGHqH/"]Bonzi[/a] battled brilliantly to claim the first at the Manolo Santana stadium.[/p][p]The Frenchman survived five break points to reach a tie-break, where he also saved set point before edging ahead.[/p][embed guid="1a963d18-1014-4676-aed8-adb4e5c64b79" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2047715726786429277" social-type="twitter" /][p]However, Sinner stepped up a gear in the second set, securing breaks in the fourth and sixth games, and another in the third [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/bonzi-b-M5OpGHqH/sinner-j-6HdC3z4H/?mid=SzVmUOyI"]on his way to the third round[/a].[/p][p]"It was a tough match, I had some chances early on and I couldn't use them, but this is tennis," said four-time Grand Slam winner Sinner.[/p][p]"[b]It's not bad to start the tournament like this, two and a half hours on court, it gives me good feedback where we need to improve for the next round[/b].[/p][p]"[b]Of course, we need to improve, but I'm also happy, when you're not playing your best tennis and win, it's still a good result[/b]."[/p][embed guid="66d5aca0-b9fa-430d-b732-b7b2aaee5b46" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2047716558529564794" social-type="twitter" /][p]With Sinner's biggest rival, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alcaraz-garfia-carlos/UkhgIFEq/"]Carlos Alcaraz[/a], injured and unable to compete either this week or in the upcoming French Open, the Italian is the overwhelming favourite for every competition he enters in the weeks ahead.[/p][p]Earlier, Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic sent world number six Ben Shelton crashing out with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/prizmic-d-YcluY2Zi/shelton-b-QNuG0Gzb/?mid=zNH5K6Xh"]6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5)[/a] victory.[/p][p]Promising 20-year-old [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/prizmic-dino/YcluY2Zi/"]Prizmic[/a], ranked 87th, secured his first-ever win over a top-10 player in a three-hour battle in the Spanish capital.[/p][p]American [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/shelton-ben/QNuG0Gzb/"]Shelton[/a] triumphed at the Munich Open on Sunday on clay but was unable to force a single break point on Prizmic's serve.[/p][embed guid="5a4e8f01-5608-4b51-8980-95ce428316c4" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2047684687556997213" social-type="twitter" /][p]Earlier, Italian [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/musetti-lorenzo/xtH2ODVI/"]Lorenzo Musetti[/a], ranked ninth, defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/hurkacz-hubert/zuHOBnY9/"]Hubert Hurkacz[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/hurkacz-h-zuHOBnY9/musetti-l-xtH2ODVI/?mid=CUJ3Vbb4"]6-4, 7-6(4).[/a][/p][h2]'I basically survived'[/h2][p]Women's number two [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rybakina-elena/UDzElXdm/"]Elena Rybakina[/a] scraped into the Madrid Open third round with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/ruse-g-ra7IoKGO/rybakina-e-UDzElXdm/?mid=8h7vJb8k"]4-6, 6-3, 7-5[/a] win over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/ruse-elena-gabriela/ra7IoKGO/"]Elena-Gabriela Ruse[/a].[/p][p]Kazakhstan's Rybakina, who won the Australian Open in January and triumphed at Stuttgart last week, struggled in the first set, making 24 unforced errors to just eight winners.[/p][embed guid="1221fce1-bf66-4975-bfe1-b42e16a00e74" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2047676516260102169" social-type="twitter" /][p]After claiming a topsy-turvy second set, she came back from a break down in the third and sealed the victory on her third match point.[/p][p]Rybakina will meet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/zheng-qinwen/xCyEhjAS/"]Zheng Qinwen[/a], who produced a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/kenin-s-IJAxNUl3/zheng-q-xCyEhjAS/?mid=ObSSt2LN"]similarly battling performance[/a] to overcome [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/kenin-sofia/IJAxNUl3/"]Sofia Kenin[/a], in the third round.[/p][p]"Today, I basically survived," said Rybakina after her hard-fought victory.[/p][p]"[b]It wasn't the greatest performance but Gabriela, she played very well. She was playing very deep and aggressive, so it was very difficult[/b].[/p][p]"[b]My serve was not really helping me today... but I'm really happy that I managed to win, and I hope I can bring better tennis next round[/b]."[/p][embed guid="c6230ebd-2c24-44e5-b853-9038d44402bb" url="https://x.com/WTA/status/2047683029963817149" social-type="twitter" /][p]Last year's runner-up and the third seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/gauff-coco/f5BXmEH6/"]Coco Gauff[/a] made light work of [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/jeanjean-leolia/EDBO32wT/"]Leolia Jeanjean[/a] with a [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/gauff-c-f5BXmEH6/jeanjean-l-EDBO32wT/?mid=hMIRHfne"]6-3, 6-0[/a] victory at the Arantxa Sanchez stadium.[/p][p]Gauff will take on Romanian [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/cirstea-sorana/fBPsm3Iq/"]Sorana Cirstea[/a] in the third round, after she defeated [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/grant-tyra-caterina/KECg1Jfi/"]Tyra Caterina Grant[/a] in straight sets.[/p]