Madrid Open 2026 Day Six Recap

Day six of the Mutua Madrid Open was a fairly routine round with a clear upstart and most of the big names progressing without too much trouble.

The headline result saw 20-year-old Belgian qualifier Alexander Blockx take out third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(3) 6-3 for his first top 10 win.

Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas looked solid in straight sets, Casper Ruud continued his run as defending champion, and Alexander Zverev had to battle through a late wobble before closing out Terence Atmane.

Here are the notable results from Day 6:

Day Six 2026 Madrid Open Round of 32 Results

Summary of the match

Alexander Blockx def. (3) Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6(3) 6-3

Biggest upset of the day. The 20-year-old Belgian qualifier produced a confident, composed performance to record his first top 10 win.

Blockx served excellently (saving the only break point he faced) and controlled the rally well. He moves up to No. 53 in the live rankings and will now face Francisco Cerúndolo in the quarterfinals. This continues a strong clay swing for Blockx after also reaching the Round of 16 in Monte Carlo.

Stefanos Tsitsipas def. Daniel Mérida (Q) 6-4 6-2

A solid, efficient straight sets victory for the Greek as he continues his improved form. Tsitsipas spoke of feeling real “joy” on the court and reconnecting with his game. He converted 3/4 break points and will now face defending champion Casper Ruud in a fourth round match (their first meeting since the 2024 Barcelona final).

Is he back? Too early to tell, but things are moving in the right direction, and this is the first time he has won three games in one tournament (excluding the United Cup) since his title run in Dubai last February.

(12) Casper Ruud def. (20) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3 6-1

The reigning champion dropped just five games in the match (and only five over their first three games combined). Ruud looks in good shape heading into the match with Tsitsipas, but the level between these two today was nothing to write home about.

(2) Alexander Zverev def. Terence Atmane 6-3 7-6(2)

Zverev had to navigate a late turn. He failed to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set when Atmane made a comeback, but the two-time Madrid champion regrouped well and dominated the tiebreak to close it out.

With this win, Zverev has now reached the last sixteen in all nine of his appearances in Madrid and joins Sinner as the only players to reach the fourth round at all four Masters 1000 events this season.

I can’t really remember a Zverev match where he doesn’t seem to be struggling to close it out. Maybe against the real lower tier stuff, but any kind of Top 100 player, then he can go from cruise control to air combat in no time. This time he may have an excuse, as he appeared to have some sort of back injury, which I guess puts his match tomorrow in jeopardy.

Highlights

Soon.

Madrid Open 2026 Day seven round of 16 matches