'Magic Dust' sees Stefanos Tsitsipas join Zverev and Sinner in last 16 at Madrid Open
Stefanos Tsitsipas says a bit of 'magic dust' helped him to secure his successful start at the Madrid Open and continue his excellent record on clay.
Tsitsipas eased through his first tie with a 6-3, 6-4 win over French wild card Lucas Pouille in just 68 minutes, making him the first man to notch up 25 ATP tour match wins this year.
"It was good magic, a fair amount of magic dust," Tsitsipas said of his victory at the Caja Magica. "A great start at the beginning of this tournament."
The world number five who is 31-6 on clay since the start of 2021 with three titles in five finals, said he's not looking at his record on the red dirt, just taking it a match at a time.
"I don't really think about this stuff, to be honest with you," said Tsitsipas.
"I've had good runs in the past. I've played well on this surface but every single day is a different challenge.
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"Everyone wants to go out there and play the best they can against me, so I'm just going to try to play consistently as much as I can," he concluded.
Tsitsipas, who is fourth seed, will face Grigor Dimitrov in the last 16.
Elsewhere, Alexander Zverev came from set down to beat Marin Cilic 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance at the Madrid Open. He will take on Italian youngster Lorenzo Musetti in the next round.
Another Italian youngster Jannik Sinner also advanced in the competition, beating Alex de Minaur with ease 6-4, 6-1 and will face Felix Auger-Aliassime next.
Meanwhile, the British contingency are going strong in Madrid with three players in the last 16. Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Andy Murray are all due to play on Thursday with Murray having the toughest draw against old rival and world number one Novak Djokovic.
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