Felix Auger-Aliassime is the No. 3 seed and is looking like a contender to reach the Madrid final, but Alexander Blockx stands in his way of round four. Francisco Cerundolo and Luciano Darderi also take the court on Monday.
Alexander Blockx vs. (3) Felix Auger-Aliassime
They may not be as ideal for Auger-Aliassime as an indoor hard court, but conditions at the Mutua Madrid Open are great for his game. The clay surface gives him time to set up for his groundstrokes, plus the high altitude makes his serve and forehand even more lethal than they are in a slower setting. Auger-Aliassime, who finished runner-up to Andrey Rublev in Madrid two years ago, improved to 18-7 this season with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Vilius Gaubas on Saturday.
Up next for the fifth-ranked Canadian on Monday is a first-ever showdown against Blockx, who has advanced with three-set defeats of Cristian Garin and Brandon Nakashima. The 21-year-old Belgian is up to No. 69 in the world thanks in part to having won six tour-level matches in 2026. Blockx is on the rise, but Auger-Aliassime is simply on a different level right now — especially on the relatively big stage of a Masters 1000.
Pick: Auger-Aliassime in 2
(16) Francisco Cerundolo vs. (18) Luciano Darderi
Cerundolo and Darderi will be squaring off for the sixth time in their careers and for the sixth time on clay. The head-to-head series stands at 3-2 in favor of Cerundolo, who most recently cruised 6-4, 6-2 earlier this season in the Buenos Aires final — a treat for the Argentine fans to witness two of their own battling for the title. Cerundolo has won three of their last four encounters, and both of his losses have come in final-set tiebreakers.
Darderi triumphed in Santiago a couple of months ago, but for the most part he has cooled off since a scorching-hot 2025 summer at the ATP 250 level. The world No. 22 is a modest 14-9 this year and was 1-3 in his last four matches before beating Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-1, 6-3 on Saturday. As Darderi knows all too well, however, this Cerundolo brother is an entirely different beast. The 16th seed, who disposed of Yannick Hanfmann 6-1, 7-5 in round two, has a favorable history in this matchup and has also enjoyed far more success than Darderi in Masters 1000s over the years.
Pick: Cerundolo in 2
WWW?
AA in 2; Cdolo in 2
Darderi in 3, 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(4)
X in 3 upset special for you guys
not out of the question
Good one, Blockx!
And the WTA side surprises — Heather Baptiste beating Belinda Bencic, Anna Potapova getting Elena Rybakina in straight sets, Linda Noskova knocking out Coco Gauff!😮
i picked Baptiste to beat Bencic
(HAILEY not Heather!)
You did? Good for you!💫 Bencic was so amazing at the United Cup this year it surprised me to see her beaten by Ms Baptiste (first name of Hailey, I stand corrected!).