Madrid Open 2016: Monday Tennis Scores, Results, Updated Schedule
Roger Federer dropped out of the 2016 Madrid Open with an injury on Monday, and another top seed, Ana Ivanovic, was forced to pack her bags as well, losing to qualifier Louisa Chirico in an upset.
Ivanovic played sloppy, error-prone tennis from the second set onward, and while she kept things relatively close in the third, Chirico's win was thoroughly deserved.
Victoria Azarenka beat Alize Cornet, while Elina Svitolina's tournament came to an early end against Daria Gavrilova.
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In the men's draw, Milos Raonic, Gilles Simon and Feliciano Lopez all booked their spot in the second round.
Here’s a look at the full results from Monday:
| (4) Victoria Azarenka bt. Alize Cornet | 6-3, 6-2 |
| Daria Gavrilova bt. (12) Elina Svitolina | 6-2, 7-6 (4) |
| (5) Petra Kvitova bt. (Q) Elena Vesnina | 6-3, 6-3 |
| Christina McHale bt. (13) Karolina Pliskova | 7-6 (3), 6-4 |
| (Q) Patricia Maria Tig bt. (16) Sloane Stephens | 6-2, 6-3 |
| Madison Keys bt. Barbora Strycova | 6-3, 6-3 |
| (Q) Louisa Chirico bt. (14) Ana Ivanovic | 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 |
| Irina-Camelia Begu bt. (3) Garbine Muguruza | 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-3 |
| Feliciano Lopez bt. Leonardo Mayer | 7-6 (5), 4-6, 6-4 |
| (11) Milos Raonic bt. Thomaz Bellucci | 7-6 (4), 6-1 |
| (10) Richard Gasquet bt. (Q) Robert Carballes Baena | 6-1, 7-6 (5) |
| Andrey Kuznetsov bt. Victor Troicki | 6-4, 6-4 |
| Joao Sousa bt. Nicolas Mahut | 6-4, 6-4 |
| (Q) Denis Istomin bt. Teymuraz Gabashvili | 6-1, 6-4 |
| (16) Gilles Simon bt. Marcos Baghdatis | 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 |
| Sam Querrey bt. (Q) Pierre Hughes Herbert | 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-4 |
| (Q) Lucas Pouille bt. (12) David Goffin | 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (7) |
| (Q) Radek Stepanek bt. Vasek Pospisil | 6-1, 6-7 (4), 6-4 |
| (9) David Ferrer bt. Guillermo Garcia-Lopez | 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 |
For the full schedule, visit the ATP's official website.
Monday Recap
The biggest story to come out of Madrid on Monday was undoubtedly Federer, who arrived in Madrid nursing a back injury and decided not to risk aggravating things ahead of the French Open.
Per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times, the Swiss veteran weighed in on his chances for victory at Roland Garros:
Chirico proved to be a tough nut to crack for Ivanovic in the first set of their match, putting plenty of pressure on the Serb's second serve and more than holding her own in the rallies. The 19-year-old came up big in key moments, facing no less than 12 break points, and ran out to a quick 5-3 lead and a set point.
She struggled at the net, however, and Ivanovic stepped up her play at the right time, relying on passing shots and a handful of errors to win four games in a row and grab the set.
The American changed tactics in the second, attacking Ivanovic with deep, strong groundstrokes, and her forehand in particular did plenty of damage. Her more experienced opponent had no answers, and while Ivanovic managed to avoid a bagel, it took Chirico almost no time to force a third set.
The Record's Jose Morgado of Portugal did not like what he saw from Ivanovic at all:
The 28-year-old halted her slide in the third set and grabbed an early break, but Chirico immediately broke back. Neither player surrendered an inch until Chirico broke serve in the seventh, and the setback broke Ivanovic's resolve. She wouldn't win another game.
Azarenka cruised to the next round in her two-set win over Cornet, but unfortunately for the 26-year-old, an odd incident in the first set overshadowed her performance. Azarenka complained to the umpire over the quality of the towels the players were given, something that didn’t sit well with fans and pundits alike.
Sports writer Giulio Gasparin summarised Monday’s action between the two:
Cornet had a nightmare outing, double-faulting no less than eight times and routinely making simple mistakes. The French star had no depth on her serve and seemed to struggle with her footwork in the return game, and she was unable to take advantage of an apparent shoulder injury Azarenka suffered late.
Svitolina had a similarly rough outing in her two-set loss against Gavrilova, as the 12th-seeded Ukrainian struggled from the baseline and chased balls around the court throughout the contest.
Svitolina’s clay season has been a minor disaster so far, and with the French Open right around the corner, she’ll have to find some improvements soon.
In the men's draw, Raonic needed just over 80 minutes to get past Brazil's Thomaz Bellucci, surviving a close tiebreak in the first set before switching gears in the second.
Raonic hadn't been in action since his crushing loss against Andy Murray in Monte Carlo, but he showed little rust against Bellucci, who put up a strong challenge early but didn't look the same in the second set, dropping his serve immediately and winning just one more game.
Lopez needed three sets to get past Leonardo Mayer, and Richard Gasquet took care of business against qualifier Roberto Carballes Baena.
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