Zverev crashes as Iga enters Madrid QF

MADRID — World No. 2 Alexander Zverev was knocked out of the Madrid Open in the round of 16 by Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday as defending women's champion Iga Swiatek had a few scares before advancing to the quarterfinals (QF).

Cerundolo, ranked 21, beat the German — a two-time former winner in Madrid — 7-5, 6-3 to repeat his feat from last year.

Swiatek reached her fifth WTA 1000 quarterfinal of the season with a hard-fought 6-0, 6-7 (3), 6-4 victory over 13th-seeded Diana Shnaider.

Argentinian Cerundolo will face Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals after the Czech's straightforward 6-3, 6-2 victory over Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik.

"I didn't play terrible, he just played better than me," Zverev said.

"I'm super happy because I know he loves playing here. He told me last year when I beat him," said Cerundolo.

After a nationwide blackout canceled the majority of play at the Caja Magica on Monday, power was restored at the venue on Tuesday morning, with matches commencing at midday.

In the women's tournament, Swiatek saved 11 of 13 break points en route to a two-hour, 34-minute victory that sent her through to a last-eight showdown with Australian Open champion Madison Keys.

Asked about the power outage, the 23-year-old Swiatek admitted she enjoyed being off the grid for a few hours.

"Honestly, I liked yesterday, I think the whole world was more relaxed kind of, obviously the people who didn't lose because of this. I had time to rest," said Swiatek.

"Honestly, I just chilled and used the time not thinking about what I should do."

Women's world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka eased past 44th-ranked American Peyton Stearns 6-2, 6-4 to reach the last eight.

The 26-year-old Belarusian, who won in Miami in March, will next face either Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk or Russian Anastasia Potapova.

Sabalenka has won two titles in Madrid in 2021 and 2023, and reached the final last year.