Madrid Open 2025 Day 4 Recap – Perfect Tennis

Day four at the 2025 Madrid Open saw the round of 64 completed with the bottom half of the draw in action.

With Alcaraz withdrawing after the draw was made, this section was wide open, but Novak Djokovic couldn’t take advantage, falling to Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets. 

Other seeds to fall included Tomas Machac, Jiri Lehecka, Ugo Humbert and Sebastian Baez paving the way for qualifiers and underdogs like Jacob Fearnley and Damir Dzumhur to steal the spotlight.

While Draper, de Minaur, Paul, Tstisipas, Musetti and Dimitrov all progressed.

Full results and recap below.

Day Three 2025 Madrid Open Round of 64 Results

Winner
Loser
Scoreline

Jack Draper (5)
Tallon Griekspoor
6-3 6-4

Matteo Berrettini (30)
Marcos Giron
6-7(3) 7-6(6) 6-1

Karen Khachanov (24)
Reilly Opelka (PR)
7-6(3) 7-6(4)

Tommy Paul (11)
Joao Fonseca
7-6(7) 7-6(3)

Frances Tiafoe (16)
Luciano Darderi
7-5 3-1 RET

Alexander Muller
Ugo Humbert (21)
6-2 6-7(3) 7-6(5)

Damir Dzhumur
Sebastian Baez (32)
1-6 6-1 6-2

Matteo Arnaldi
Novak Djokovic (4)
6-3 6-4

Alex de Minaur (6)
Lorenzo Sonego
6-2 6-3

Denis Shapovalov (29)
Kei Nishikori
6-1 6-4

Stefanos Tsitsipas (17)
Jan Lennard Struff
3-6 6-4 6-3

Lorenzo Musetti (10)
Tomas Martin Etcheverry
7-6(3) 6-2

Grigor Dimitrov (15)
Nicolas Jarry
6-3 6-4

Jacob Fearnley
Tomas Machac (19)
1-6 6-3 6-2

Cameron Norriw
Jiri Lehecka (26)
2-6 6-4 6-0

Gabriel Diallo (LL)
Kamil Majchrzak (LL)
7-5 4-6 6-4

Arnaldi Downs Djokovic

Matteo Arnaldi further turned the bottom half of the Madrid Open draw upside down on Saturday, toppling fourth seed Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4.

With Alcaraz having withdrawn, this section was already wide open, but the No. 44-ranked Italian, who has often stated Djoker is his idol, mixed blistering forehands with crafty drop shots to rattle the three-time Madrid champ.

As we’ve seen of late, Djokovic was off his game, spraying 32 unforced errors, and his on-court demeanour isn’t looking like someone enjoying tennis at the moment.

I saw a couple of his clips from practice, and he appeared frustrated with his game. Can he turn it on solely at the Grand Slams? I’m not sure you can do it without at least some matches under your belt, so maybe he shifts his focus to Wimbledon and uses the French to build some leg strength.

He’s my idol, he’s always been. I was just glad that I could play him. I never played him, just practised with him. To play him at a stage like this was already a victory for me. He’s not at his best right now, so I came on court to try to play my best tennis and win, and it happened, so right now I don’t even know what to say. I was just trying to rally a bit at the start, trying to make him [make] some mistakes. Then once it starts, you start to feel better, the tension goes a little bit away. He gave me a little bit in a few games. For sure it helped me that I broke him straight away so I was like, ‘Alright, that’s a good start’ and then after that, it was an escalation. I started to play better and I think it became a quite good match. Arnaldi on his win.

I was hoping I can play one more match than I played in Monte-Carlo. [It’s] kind of a new reality for me, I have to say. Trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament… It’s a completely different feeling from what I had in 20-plus years of professional tennis. It’s a challenge for me mentally to really face these kinds of sensations on the court, going out early now regularly in tournaments. Obviously after you lose a match you don’t feel good, but I’ve had a few of these this year where I lose in the first round, unfortunately. I knew that it was going to be a really tough opening match for me in this tournament. Arnaldi is a really good player, a quality player. I didn’t have too many matches on clay. I did practise well, but it’s completely different when you step out on the match court. I think the positive thing is that I really enjoyed myself more than I [did] in Monte-Carlo, so that’s a good thing. But obviously the level of tennis is not where I would like it to be. But, that’s the circle of life and the career, eventually it was going to happen. Djokovic on his loss.

Fearnley Mutes Machac

Jacob Fearnley pulled off the biggest win of his career on Saturday, stunning 19th seed Tomas Machac 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 to reach the third round of the Mutua Madrid Open 2025.

The British No. 2, ranked No. 68, battled back from a set down and overcame a rolled ankle, needing painkillers to power through.

Fearnley is a former US college tennis player and turned pro last year. Before April, he’d never won a tour-level match on clay, but after coming through qualifying, he’s now into the third round, bagging wins over Bu and Machac.

I think I was playing — taking nothing away from Thomas — I was playing some of the worst tennis I’ve played in a while. And then I actually rolled my ankle and was in a decent amount of pain and just kind of loosened up a little bit, honestly. And I think that actually helped, believe it or not — a twisted ankle actually helped my performance today. And then the doc gave me some painkillers, and yeah, I felt I was serving in that last set some of the best I’ve served in a long time. Yeah, super happy to get the win and yeah, looking forward to the next one. Fearnley on his win.

Other Matches of Note

Damir Dzumhur def. Sebastian Baez (32) 1-6, 6-1, 6-2: Dzumhur roared back from a first-set rout to upset the 32nd seed, setting up a clash with Arnaldi. Baez usually is a tough nut to crack on clay, but Madrid’s conditions probably don’t suit him.

Alex de Minaur (6) def. Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-3: De Minaur was ruthless yet again, sweeping Sonego aside in a clinical display, recovering from an early break in the first set to dominate.

Denis Shapovalov (29) def. Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-4: Shapovalov’s power overwhelmed the former finalist.

Stefanos Tsitsipas (17) def. Jan-Lennard Struff 3-6, 6-4, 6-3: Tsitsipas battled back from a set down, leaning on his baseline game to outlast Struff in a gritty win, and even forgetting he’d won the match instead going to sit down for a change of ends 😆

Cameron Norrie def. Jiri Lehecka (26) 2-6, 6-4, 6-0: Norrie turned the tables after a slow start, blanking Lehecka in the decider for a statement victory.

Lorenzo Musetti (10) def. Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-6(3), 6-2: Musetti won 71% of first-serve points in a 1-hour 47-minute win.

Grigor Dimitrov (15) def. Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4: Dimitrov’s 22 winners secured a straight-sets victory, impressive as I saw his practice earlier this week, and he struggled to find the court.

Frances Tiafoe (16) def. Luciano Darderi 7-5, 3-1 RET: Tiafoe advanced after Darderi retired, leading after 88 minutes. Yet another retirement in Madrid; I hope Hospital 12 de Octubre, across the road, has enough beds.

Matteo Berrettini (30) def. Marcos Giron 6-7(3), 7-6(6), 6-1: Berrettini hit 42 winners in a three-set battle, coming within two points of losing the second-round clash at 6/6 in the second-set tie-break before turning it around.

Alexander Muller def. Ugo Humbert (21) 6-2, 6-7(3), 7-6(5): Muller edged a 2-hour, 30-minute epic with 23 winners.

In the final match of the day, Tommy Paul (11) def. João Fonseca 7-6(7), 7-6(6), edging out the Brazilian in a tight match where Paul showcased his resilience, saving six break points in the first set alone and clawing back from a 1-4 deficit in the tie break.

Highlights

Coming soon.

Madrid Open Day Five: Round of 32 Matches