Monfils becomes oldest winner in
Madrid. Italian teenager Cina advances and Raducanu wins
[April 24, 2025]
By TALES AZZONI
MADRID (AP) — Italian teenager Federico Cina picked up his second
ATP Masters 1000 victory by defeating Coleman Wong in straight sets
at the Madrid Open on Wednesday, while Gael Monfils became the
oldest winner in the tournament's history.
The 38-year-old Monfils rallied from a poor start to defeat
qualifier Borna Gojo 1-6, 6-2, 6-4 for his first win in Madrid since
2022. The 42nd-ranked Monfils is a two-time quarterfinalist at the
Masters 1000 clay-court event.
“At the beginning, he served one second serve,” Monfils said of Gojo.
“I think he had a 94 first-serve percentage, he played great. I (let
the) storm pass, then different tactics. I served more with kick and
tried to play a little bit different, maybe let him go and not do so
much. At the end, just run, run to the ball. It’s not a pretty win,
but it’s a win.”
The 18-year-old Cina won 7-6 (5), 6-1 to back up his victory over
current No. 70 Francisco Comesaña in Miami last month, which marked
his ATP 1000 debut. He saved both break points he faced against Wong
and finished with 19 winners.
“Before the match I was a little bit tight but after a few games I
started to feel good," said the 373rd-ranked Cina, a wild-card entry
who will next face American Sebastian Korda. "It is really special
to win a match at this event.”
Monfils next meet seventh seed defending champion Andrey Rublev, who
defeated Monfils two weeks ago in the round of 32 in Monte Carlo.
Alexander Bublik beat Alex Michelsen 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4), while
Comesaña got past Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-4, 6-4 at the clay-court
tournament.
Nuno Borges of Portugal rallied to defeat home-crowd favorite Pablo
Carreno Busta 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 6-3, while Arthur Rinderknech
defeated Roman Safiullin 7-6 (4), 6-1. Christopher O’Connell got
past Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-3, 6-4.
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Returning mothers
Belinda Bencic, who returned from maternity leave last October,
defeated Zeynep Sonmez 6-0, 6-2 on the first birthday of her
daughter, Bella.
Three-time Madrid Open champion Petra Kvitova, who was back from her
maternity leave in February, lost 6-4, 6-0 to Katie Volynets.
Anastasija Sevastova, who has played infrequently since giving birth
in late 2022, defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-4, 7-5.
Raducanu wins again on clay
Emma Raducanu had her first win on outdoor clay since 2022, coming
from a break down in both sets to beat Suzan Lamens 7-6 (4), 6-4.
The 2021 U.S. Open champion had missed most of the 2023 clay season
because of wrist and ankle surgeries. She then cut short her 2024
season on the surface after losing in her Madrid opener.
In other action in the women’s side, Americans Alycia Parks and
Bernarda Pera advanced in straight sets. Pera got past Jana Fett
6-4, 6-3, while Parks overcame Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-3, 6-3.
Three other Americans lost: Robing Montgomery fell 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 to
Moyuka Uchijima, Ahslyn Krueger lost 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2 to Anastasia
Potatova, and McCartney Kessler was defeated 6-2, 6-4 by Bianca
Andreescu.
Maria Sakkari defeated Xinyu Wang 6-4, 7-6 (7).
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