The ‘Magic Box’ at the Madrid Open saw a bag of tricks from the rackets of two possible heirs on clay.
Rafael Nadal soared to clay titles on the Monte Carlo and Barcelona red dirt to help build a 21-match and 50 successive set winning streak on his savoured surface.
The Spaniard was forging another imposing build-up to return to his throne at Roland Garros.
However, the ‘Magic Box’ at the Madrid Open saw a bag of tricks from the rackets of two possible heirs to his clay court helm.
How about storming to a third Masters 1000 title without relinquishing serve or surrendering a set? Well, Alexander ‘Sascha’ Zverev ruthlessly dispatched the Madrid field to reign in Spain.
"All in all, I'm just really happy with how I played, that I could win my third Masters," said the German having lifted the trophy on Sunday. "So far it's been pretty good for me on clay this year. Hopefully I can continue this kind of streak in Rome. Obviously the altitude fits me a little bit with my serve, with how I play, with me playing a little bit more aggressive than maybe others. That definitely fits me. But I just feel confident and comfortable right now.”
A confident and comfortable Sascha is an intimidating prospect for opponents, as seen in his 6-4, 6-4 passage past Dominic Thiem in the silverware showdown to chalk up 18 successive sets to his name.
The world No.3, who also held the trophy aloft in Munich the week before, broke in the opening game of each set to wrestle away the initiative to topple Thiem for the title.
"In general, the last 10 days have been pretty good, winning two titles in this time. One in Germany and this one here is massive. It's been unbelievable. I'm not going to lie. I'm just going to do everything I can to continue this kind of streak, get the performance I had here in Rome."
The forehand in particular is back with crushing conviction, but all his strokes were crisp and struck with authority in Madrid, banishing frustrating displays earlier in the campaign.
Zverev sauntered past Evgeny Donskoy and Leonardo Mayer, to then gain revenge for Miami Masters final defeat at the hands of John Isner 6-4, 7-5 in the quarter-finals.
The Munich champion lost only nine points in eight service games to nullify the threat of Next Gen star Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-1 inside 57 minutes to book a fourth Masters 1000 final.
Passing the Thiem test, having previously lost three meetings on clay in 2016, illustrates Zverev’s flourishing finesse on the clay. As a reward, the towering German becomes just the fifth active player to capture a trio of Masters 1000 titles, joining the ‘Big Four’ of Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.
A semi-final in Monte-Carlo (l.Nishikori) and two straight titles. Zverev is conjuring up calls to become a true Roland Garros contender.
We have to mention the heroics of Shapovalov in the Spanish capital.
The 19-year-old arrived in Madrid without an ATP match win on clay, owning just a 1-4 record on the red dirt in ATP Challenger action.
In a sparkling set of results, the Next Gen teenager played an absorbing stint of tennis to oust countryman Milos Raonic and then prevailed in a pulsating three-set battle with Kyle Edmund.
The 7-5, 6-7(6), 6-4 triumph over Edmund saw a match point in the tie-break bypass the Canadian, before he dug deep with remarkable resolve to become the youngest Madrid semi-finalist since Nadal in 2005. Not a bad path to follow…
The Austrian admitted arriving in Madrid that he didn’t expect a title tilt at the Magic Box.
Defying that sentiment, he whipped his ferocious shots to overhaul opening set deficits against Federico Delbonis and Borna Coric to book a ticket to take on Nadal in the quarter-finals.
Rewind to Rome 2017 and Thiem notched up a memorable straight-sets victory over the ‘King of Clay’. In Madrid, Thiem was again simply scintillating with brave shotmaking to chalk up an impressive 7-5, 6-3 win.
“I had to play an extraordinary match, and that's what I did," said Thiem. "I went in with the attitude that I can beat him. Obviously, two weeks ago in Monte-Carlo, he killed me love and two. It was very important I went into the match with a positive attitude, with an attitude to win.”
More importantly, the world No.8 was thrashed 6-1, 6-0 by Djokovic following his Rome triumph against Nadal last year.
How would he back up such a landmark victory this time?
Well, the 24-year-old overturned a 0-6 head-to-head with Kevin Anderson to secure a comprehensive 6-4, 6-2 route into the finale.
“I didn't have great results in the last weeks in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, but here I got my self-confidence full back, even though I lost today,” reflected Thiem after the final. “It was still a good week. I just played bad today, that's it. There is no reason to be worried... I will learn from it.”
The attitude is forward thinking, he’s backed up a scorching performance to beat the ‘King of Clay’ and has a winning mentality in his locker.
The Madrid Open reminded us that Nadal is not invincible on the clay, that an 11th Roland Garros title is not a formality, with Zverev’s artillery firing on all cylinders and Thiem proving that an astute but aggressive game plan can reap rewards.
Nadal will obviously respond, will be eager to set another benchmark in Rome. Saying that, Zverev and Thiem are the prime candidates to take over the throne when Rafa’s dominance on the dirt ends.
Whether that is this season in Paris, or in the years to come, we have a genuinely competitive road to Roland Garros to look forward to. Grab the popcorn!
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
