Alexander Zverev escaped a tough third-round match in Madrid and will now face Francisco Cerundolo in the last 16 on Tuesday. Jakub Mensik and Alexander Bublik are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
(1) Alexander Zverev vs. (20) Francisco Cerundolo
Zverev and Cerundolo will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers when they clash in round four of the Mutua Madrid Open on Tuesday. Surprisingly, Cerundolo has won both of their previous encounters–6-3, 6-4 in the same round of this same Madrid tournament last spring and 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 a couple of months ago in Buenos Aires.
It would be no surprise if the tide turns on Tuesday. Cerundolo is playing great (22-9 in 2025 following victories this fortnight over Harold Mayot and Francisco Comesana), but Zverev has regained his form following a February and March slump–plus he is generally amazing in Madrid. The second-ranked German is coming off a clay-court title in Munich and he has extended his winning streak to seven matches with defeats of Roberto Bautista Agut and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina while improving his lifetime Madrid record to 25-5 with two titles. Zverev needed a third-set tiebreaker to beat ADF, but that should settle him down for a cleaner performance against Cerundolo.
Pick: Zverev in 2
(22) Jakub Mensik vs. Alexander Bublik
Mensik is surging into the second week at the Madrid Masters on the strength of an eight-match Masters 1000 winning streak. The 19-year-old Czech produced the biggest moment of his career with a 1000-point title last month in Miami, where he upset Novak Djokovic in the final. Mensik skipped Monte-Carlo and had only played one clay match in 2025 prior this fortnight but has gotten right back in gear on a new surface with straight-set wins over Ethan Quinn and Ben Shelton.
Up next for the world No. 23 on Tuesday is a third meeting with Bublik. They have split their two previous encounters; Bublik came back from two sets down to prevail last summer at Wimbledon before Mensik got the job done 6-4, 6-4 earlier this season on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam. The 2025 campaign has been a much different story for the 75th-ranked Kazakh, who was a disastrous 3-10 at the ATP level heading into this event. Bublik has done well to suddenly get past Alex Michelsen, Alexei Popyrin, and Andrey Rublev, but a fourth consecutive decent performance seems unlikely–especially at the expense of such a red-hot opponent.
Pick: Mensik in 2
WWW?
Cerundolo in 3
Mensik in 2
Cerundolo leading the H2H 3-0 would be pretty funny
good pix
Thanks, was tempted to say Cerundolo in 2 but thought Zverev may be able to squeeze a tie-break, but after winning Munich and straight to Madrid, a player like Dolo is going to push your fitness.
Zverev in three, Mensik in two .
Bare in mind Mensik literally lost to Hanfmann just over a week ago, he’s not on a 8 match winning streak.
yep good call
Bublik in 3 upset ‼️
Zverev in 3
not looking good!
Cerundolo v Mensik – now that’s a cracker!
who ya got?
I’d be guessing on this court
It’s a battle of two titans of the game for sure.