Canada's Diallo advances from Madrid Open 3rd-round match delayed by power outage

Montreal's Gabriel Diallo, who earned entry into the Madrid Open as a lucky loser, advanced to the fourth round Tuesday with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 comeback win over Britain's Cameron Norrie.

The 22-year-old fired eight aces and broke Norrie twice in the final two sets to move on at the clay-court tournament.

Diallo, the last Canadian remaining in Madrid, earned his spot in the main draw as a replacement for Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka, who withdrew before the tournament. He has reeled off wins over Zizou Bergs, Kamil Majchrzak and Norrie.

He will next face No. 15 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the Round of 16,  his first seeded opponent at the tournament.

It marks the best performance of Diallo's career at an ATP Masters 1000 event.

Earlier Tuesday, 29th-seeded Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., dropped a 6-3, 7-6 (3) decision to No. 6 Alex de Minaur of Australia.

Shapovalov fired six aces but was undone by five double faults and 37 unforced errors.

"He's got tremendous firepower from every part of the court, and I had to do my best to neutralize it, and not let him dictate as much as he could," said De Minaur, who improved to 5-0 against Shapovalov.

Both Diallo's and Shapovalov's matches had been postponed from Monday after a mass power outage disrupted large parts of Spain and Portugal.

The seventh-ranked de Minaur will next face Lorenzo Musetti, who beat 2019 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 7-6 (3).

Most of Madrid regained power overnight

Power was restored at the Caja Magica tennis complex Tuesday and the tournament resumed with a packed schedule that included second-ranked Iga Swiatek advancing to the quarterfinals.

Swiatek defeated Diana Shnaider 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 to stay on track to defend her title in the Spanish capital.

After a major blackout that prompted 22 matches to be postponed on Monday, most parts of Madrid regained power overnight. But the Caja Magica was still without electricity early Tuesday, causing a delay in the opening of the gates for fans.

However, the power came back quickly, and organizers did not have to alter the day's schedule of matches, although there was the possibility of the night session being delayed because of the high number of matches during the day.

In one of the first matches of the day, Swiatek cruised in the first set but had to save 11 of 13 break points to seal a hard-fought victory against the 13th-seeded Shnaider.

Swiatek has not lost before the quarterfinals in seven tournaments this season but hasn't gone past the semifinals since Roland Garros last year. She will next face Keys, who comfortably defeated Donna Vekic 6-2, 6-3.

It will be Swiatek's first meeting with Keys since she lost despite having match point in the semifinals of the Australian Open.

On the men's side, top-seeded Alexander Zverev was upset by 21st-ranked Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina 7-5, 6-3 to continue his quick rise in the rankings.

Cerundolo broke serve once in each set and saved the only break opportunity he conceded at centre court.

Elsewhere, Matteo Berrettini withdrew with an apparent abdominal injury after losing the first set 7-6 (2) to sixth-ranked Jack Draper.

"I think he said his abs were pulling," Draper said. "I've had injuries in the past. I believe he might have done it in his last match, so credit to him for coming out here and putting on a good first set. I saw his energy was a bit low in general."

Djokovic has lost 3 straight matches

Novak Djokovic pulled out of the Italian Open in the midst of a three-match losing streak, shedding doubt on how well he'll be able to play at the upcoming French Open as he continues to seek a record 25th Grand Slam trophy and 100th tournament title overall.

The clay-court event in Rome, which will be held next month, posted on social media that Djokovic wouldn't be participating and wrote: "See you next year, Nole," referring to the 37-year-old Serbian star by his nickname.

Djokovic has struggled this season, going just 12-6 and dropping his past three contests in a row — at the Miami Open, the Monte Carlos Masters and, on Saturday, at the Madrid Open.

After losing to Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-4 in Spain, Djokovic said: "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."

He has spent more weeks ranked No. 1 than any other tennis player but is currently No. 5. His only title in 2024 or 2025 was the gold medal he claimed by beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Paris Olympics in August.