Diallo delivers strong start, win for Canada after late entry into Madrid Open main draw

Montreal's Gabriel Diallo made the most of a last-minute spot in the Madrid Open, beating Belgium's Zizou Bergs 6-1, 6-2 in the opening round of the clay-court tournament.

In women's competition, 25th seed Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., was upset 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 by American Ann Li in a second-round match.

Diallo entered the main draw as a replacement for Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka, who withdrew before the tournament.

Diallo didn't face a break point and won 86 per cent of his first-serve points. He converted all four of his break chances and won 19 points on return.

It was a strong response after falling to Croatia's Borna Coric 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the final round of qualifying on Wednesday.

Diallo will next face fellow lucky loser Kamil Majchrzak, who replaced two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz after the second-seeded Spaniard withdrew Thursday with a muscle injury.

Both Li and Fernandez struggled to hold serve, but the American held a 5-4 edge in break points converted.

Li also showed off some power, with eight aces compared to two for Fernandez.

The 22-year-old Fernandez saw her record this season fall to 10-9. She was playing in her first tournament since advancing to the third round of the Miami Open in March.

Shapovalov to face Nishikori on Saturday

In other matches, former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori defeated Alexsandar Vukic 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 for his 450th tour-level win. The 64th-ranked Japanese was a 2014 finalist in Madrid.

"I had no idea," the 35-year-old Nishikori said about his milestone. "I just try to play one match at a time. It's a lot, yes … I have played for 18 years now, hopefully I can reach 500 [wins]."

He will play 29th-seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., in the second round on Saturday.

David Goffin had to retire while losing 1-0 in the third set against Alexandre Muller, while Lorenzo Sonego beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 7-6 (5).

Later Thursday, 25th-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., was scheduled to face Ann Li of the United States.

Alcaraz cites 'demanding sport' for withdrawal

Home-crowd favourite Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open on Thursday because of muscle injuries, saying he didn't want to risk making things worse before the French Open.

The third-ranked Spaniard blamed his injuries on the "really tight" schedule that is part of the "demanding sport" of tennis.

Alcaraz said he did "everything possible to play" but had to make the "tough decision" to withdraw after listening to his body and talking to doctors.

"Madrid is one of the special tournaments for me, it's a tournament that I enjoy, I get to play in front of my fans, it's one of the first tournaments I attended when I was a kid," he said.

Field Level Media reported Alcaraz is hampered by a groin injury.

Ranked No. 3 in the world, he underwent tests to determine the severity of hamstring and groin injuries incurred in the second set of the Barcelona Open final on Sunday. The ATP Tour classified the injury as a right adductor muscle strain.

"In the Barcelona final I felt something in the left hamstring, I didn't think that it was that serious," Alcaraz said Thursday. "I'm really disappointed that I'm not able to play here in Madrid."

Alcaraz, who is 24-5 this season, is shifting his focus to taking the court in Rome and then returning to defend his title at the French Open, which begins May 25.

Alcaraz won the Roland Garros final last year against Alexander Zverev, who has just leapfrogged the former for No. 2 in the world after winning in Munich last week.

"My plan is going to Rome. My mindset is to do everything it takes to be 100 per cent for Rome. I will do some tests at the beginning of next week just to see how it's improved and from that let's see how it's going to be the next days.

"These types of decisions are not easy to make but sometimes you have to think about your health and about what is important. A Grand Slam is a Grand Slam. If I play here, I could make the injuries worse and stop for several months and that's not worth it."

Alcaraz is a two-time champion in Madrid, having won in 2022 and 2023. He was the second seed this week and in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic.

The four-time Grand Slam champion has a 24-5 record this year. In addition to Monte Carlo, he won in Rotterdam on hard court in February.

Swiatek rallies, avoids 2nd upset to teen

This time, Iga Swiatek had the answers against teenage sensation Alexandra Eala.

After a quarterfinal loss to the rising star from the Philippines last month in Miami, Swiatek rallied to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory in the second round of the Madrid Open on Thursday.

The second-ranked Swiatek, who is the defending Madrid champion, is trying to reach her first final of the season.

The 19-year-old Eala, a product of Rafael Nadal's academy, defeated Swiatek in straight sets during her breakthrough run in Miami.

Eala broke Swiatek's serve early and cruised to victory in the first set at the Caja Magica centre court, but the former No. 1 regained her control for the rest of the match, taking advantage of a letdown by her young opponent.

Swiatek made three semifinal appearances this year, including at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells. She lost her second match in Stuttgart last week, falling against Jelena Ostapenko in three sets.

Before beating Swiatek in Miami, the left-handed Eala had also defeated two other Grand Slam winners — Ostapenko and Madison Keys. Her run ended in the semifinals after a loss to Jessica Pegula.

Other Thursday results:

• World No. 7 Mirra Andreeva, who will turn 18 on Tuesday, reached the third round by defeating Marie Bouzkova 6-3, 6-4, while Brazil's Bia Haddad Maia rallied to beat Bernard Pera 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
• American Katie Volynets lost 6-1, 6-2 to Diana Shnaider, and countrywoman Emma Navarro won 7-5, 7-5 against Maya Joint.