The Madrid Open is known for being the clay court tournament where big hitters and big servers get a chance to beat the best clay court players. And it seems like Aryna Sabalenka was right on that path, beating Iga Swiatek in the 2023 final and clawing her way into the 2024 final again vs the World No.1 - but this time, the Pole had an answer.

The epic women's tournament in Madrid held the entire thing together, to be honest. The men's side was hampered with many withdrawals and injuries, including champion Andrey Rublev's illness which almost cost him the title. In what was probably the match of the year (with still a good number of great tournaments to come) Iga Swiatek was able to overcome the powerful Sabalenka, the reigning Australian Open champion and two-time defending champion in Madrid. Swiatek did not have it easy, though: three match points came and were erased by a clutch Siwatek before she finally was able to cross the finish line after three hours, 20 minutes of pure drama and tennis of the most exquisite quality. Now, Swiatek has completed her clay court set, winning the only big clay tournament that was left for her, having won Rome two times and Roland Garros three times.

For the men's while things looked a little less exciting (and downright worrying) due to injuries and withdrawals, we still got to experience some good stories, matches and drama. Firstly, Rafael Nadal, who is likely in his farewell tour, reached the fourth round with majestic wins over Aelx De Minaur and Pedro Cachin before succumbing to a flawless Jiri Lehecka. Is there still something special in the King of Clay for 2024?

Secondly, while Alcaraz was clearly hindered by some injury in his arm he still gave everything he had, beating Jan Lennard Struff in a rematch of last year's final, and pushing Rublev to three sets. maybe the effort was too much though, as he is not playing in Rome, and is still a question mark for Roland Garros.

Finally, we cannot forget the heroics of Andrey Rublev, who overcame many an adversity to win his second ATP Masters 1000 title, arguably the greatest of all coming in the final match: a quite debilitating illness, and a healthy and fresh Felix Auger Aliassime, who himself enjoyed a particularly odd way to the final with two mid-match retirements and a withdrawal (Jannik Sinner, no less). While no match of the year, at least the fans were entertained by a good fight in a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 win from Rublev.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/tennis-and-bagels.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Vansh and Andre have a chat about their thoughts on the current clay season progress. Notably, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud have reached the Monte Carlo and Barcelona finals back to back, with the Greek winning Monte Carlo and the Norwegian taking the Barcelona crown for his biggest title to date. On the women's side, Elena Rybakina fought hard to win the Stuttgart indoor clay title, with a win over two-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in what was possibly the best match of the week.

With Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawals due to injury, Novak Djokovic's current lack of proper form (and a title in 2024,) ths ATP side of things is looking rather intriguing ahead of Madrid, and, most of all, Rome, as it is the closest in conditions to Roland Garros. Who will emerge as the top contender? Can Rafael Nadal find yet another title on the Parisian clay?

And though Iga Swiatek lost, it's still the same: Rome will define who is truly in the best form for the French Open - although so far we feel pretty confident in the 3-time Roland Garros champion to win the title. That is, if one of Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka, and Coco Gauff don't step up to dethrone the World Number 1, or even a rising star in potentially Marta Kostyuk and a finally stable Emma Raducanu.

We also have a quick look back into the achievements and career of Garbine Muguruza, who just announced her retirement from professional tennis in a press conference this past week. Happy retirement!

Talk to us on social media :)

Follow Tennis and Bagels: Twitter @TennisAndBAGELS

Andre Rolemberg @RolembergAndre

Vansh Vermani @vanshv2k

Owen Lewis @tennisnation

Download the TennisONE APP for scores, stats, news, videos, player content, fan contests, and more https://t1.app.link/Vansh

Owen's The Golden Rivalry: follow all chapters as they are released on substack!

Check out Popcorn Tennis!

Twitter: @Popcorn_Tennis1

Website: popcorntennis.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/tennis-and-bagels.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A bit of tennis fatigue and other personal stuff had us MIA for a while. But we're back, and just in time for the Clay Season!

Looking back at the Sunshine Double results, including the Iga Swiatek - Carlos Alcaraz double, Maria Sakkari's and Daniil Medvedev's great runs to the finals in Indian Wells, and of course, the players of the moment and Miami champions: Danielle Collins and Jannik Sinner. With one just starting the best of his career and the other bidding farewell with a dream season, the contrast in their careers right now is just a sign that anything can happen in tennis.

We also have a nice little chat with Vansh, as he talks about his experience covering tournaments on-site for the TennisOne app! Download below :)

Talk to us on social media :)

Follow Tennis and Bagels: Twitter @TennisAndBAGELS

Andre Rolemberg @RolembergAndre

Vansh Vermani @vanshv2k

Owen Lewis @tennisnation

Download the TennisONE APP for scores, stats, news, videos, player content, fan contests, and more https://t1.app.link/Vansh

Owen's The Golden Rivalry: follow all chapters as they are released on substack!

Check out Popcorn Tennis!

Twitter: @Popcorn_Tennis1

Website: popcorntennis.com

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/tennis-and-bagels.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.