Madrid Open 2025 Day 8 Recap – Perfect Tennis

Day eight at the Madrid Open brought things closer to the business end of the tournament, with the bottom half of the draw completing their round of sixteen matches.

Matteo Arnaldi and Jack Draper punched their tickets to the last eight during the day session, with Arnaldi upsetting Frances Tiafoe and Draper cruising past Tommy Paul.

Under the lights, Lorenzo Musetti continued his clay-court surge, ousting sixth seed Alex de Minaur to secure a Top 10 debut next week, while lucky loser Gabriel Diallo pulled off a gutsy upset over Grigor Dimitrov, keeping Madrid’s tradition of deep lucky loser runs alive.

Full results below.

Day Eight 2025 Madrid Open Round of 16 Results

Winner
Loser
Scoreline

Jack Draper (5)
Tommy Paul (11)
6-2 6-2

Matteo Arnaldi
Frances Tiafoe (16)
6-3 7-5

Lorenzo Musetti (10)
Alex de Minaur (6)
6-4 6-2

Gabriel Diallo (LL)
Grigor Dimitrov (15)
5-7 7-6(7) 6-4

Draper Powers Past Paul

Jack Draper is making light work of his opposition at the Mutua Madrid Open this week, powering into the quarter-finals in the Spanish capital on Wednesday with a ruthless 6-2, 6-2 demolition of Tommy Paul in just 68 minutes on Manolo Santana Stadium.

I thought Paul might be somewhat competitive, given that he had beaten Khachanov, but the fact that he took the typical American approach to clay — i.e., skipping half of it — didn’t help his cause.

I also hadn’t realised how weak his record is this year – he’s barely beaten anyone, and before Madrid, his best win by ranking so far this year was the 66th-ranked Davidovich Fokina in Australia.

Draper, on the other hand, is on the rise, still riding the confidence wave from Indian Wells. He’d already dispatched Tallon Griekspoor and Matteo Berrettini before out-hitting Paul in a baseline assault that left the American helpless. He faces Arnaldi next, and further wins in Madrid could see him break into the top 5 in the ATP rankings.

I felt really good out there. I know Tommy is a great player and I had to be on him from the off. I felt good. I think probably for the players who are from the UK or who don’t play on this surface often, they go into it with the mindset they are not going to be that great on it and, therefore, that can prevent them going further. I know I can play well on this surface and this year it’s been a big goal of mine to prove that I can play really well. I know that if I want to be a top player that I have to. Jack Draper on his win.

Musetti Downs De Minaur

Lorenzo Musetti will enter the top 10 on Monday following a commanding 6-4, 6-2 win over Alex de Minaur in Wednesday’s last sixteen clash.

The Italian has had a strong clay-court swing so far, making the final in Monte Carlo before his body failed, and he’s got a realistic shot at going one better in Madrid, given how open the draw is.

Dispatching de Minaur for the loss of just six games is no mean feat, and he was super effective on return games, breaking seven times in the match to record victory in 68 minutes.

Other Matches of Note

Matteo Arnaldi (44) upset 16th seed Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 7-5 on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, securing his second Masters 1000 quarter-final. Arnaldi dictated play with aggressive baseline exchanges, breaking Tiafoe to win the first set and recovering from failing to serve out the second set at 5-4, ultimately breaking again to clinch it 7-5. The Italian, who previously defeated Novak Djokovic, notched his third consecutive Top 20 win, while Tiafoe’s clay campaign so far has been ok (6-3); he’s not had any standout wins.

Gabriel Diallo (Lucky Loser) stunned 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-4, securing his biggest career win and first Masters 1000 quarter-final. Diallo dropped the first set 5-7 after Dimitrov broke late, but the Canadian fought back, saving three match points in the second set to force a tiebreak, which he won 9-7. In the decisive third set, Diallo broke Dimitrov’s serve to clinch the 6-4 victory to continue the Lucky Loser trend in Madrid after Struff made the final two years ago. For Dimitrov not to close out that second set, as all three match points were on his serve, is rather pathetic, and he can play like a real pansy sometimes.

Highlights

Coming soon.

Madrid Open Day Eight: Quarter Final Matches