Everything was going according to plan for Francisco Cerundolo in Madrid. Then, in a flash, all fell apart. He started his campaign on a positive note and defeated Yannick Hanfmann 6-1, 7-5 in the opening round. He then put in a superb performance against Luciano Darderi and handed him a one-sided 6-2, 6-3 defeat. But it all came crashing down for the Argentine during his third-round clash against Alexander Blockx.

The underdog came out on top in straight sets and handed Cerundolo a 7-6, 6-2 defeat. The latter lost all the momentum after he came up short in the tiebreaker of the first set. Blockx clinched it 10-8 to take a valuable lead in the match and then comfortably wrapped up the second set as well. However, the highlight of the match came during the tiebreaker when Cerundolo completely lost his cool, resulting in a rare outburst. He smashed his racket multiple times on the turf and shredded it into pieces.

This meltdown came when Blockx was serving for the set at 9-8 in the tiebreaker. Cerundolo committed an unforced error and hit the ball way outside the baseline as the Belgian took the first set. Though the 27-year-old is renowned for his calm attitude on the court, he failed to keep a check on his emotions this time around and took out all his anger on the racket.

What made the defeat even more frustrating for Cerundolo was the fact that he had a great chance of winning the first set. He had taken a 6-5 lead and even had three set points under his belt at one stage. However, Blockx fought back brilliantly and saved all the points to take the set into a tiebreaker.

The second set saw Blockx dominate over Cerundolo. The 21-year-old hit a total of 15 winners and won 81% of points on his first serve itself to reach a Masters 1000 quarterfinal for the first time in his career. The World No. 69 has been in terrific form in Madrid and has also caused multiple upsets.

This includes a hard-fought 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Brandon Nakashima in the R64. Blockx then went on to knock out World No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the R32. It was a commanding performance from the youngster as he comfortably clinched the match 7-6, 6-3. He will be taking on defending champion Casper Ruud in the last 8, who had saved two match points in his Round of 16 victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas.

On the other hand, Cerundolo’s disappointing start to the clay swing continues. The Argentine has played three tournaments on the surface this year but has failed to make it to the later stages in any of them. He had suffered a second-round exit to Tomas Machac at the Monte Carlo Masters before being knocked out by Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of the Munich Open.

The Madrid Open also proved to be forgettable for Cerundolo as not only did he get eliminated early but also lost his temper in a surprising meltdown.

However, he isn’t the only one to break his racket in the tournament as the hot conditions at the Spanish capital seem to be getting to many.

Hailey Baptiste destroys racket in grueling clash against Belinda Bencic

Hailey Baptiste and Belinda Bencic played out a nerve-wracking two-hour and 43-minute clash in the R16 of the Madrid Open. Though the American looked to be in control after winning the first set 6-1, Bencic got right back into the match after winning a dramatic tiebreaker in the second set.

It was during this tiebreaker that Baptiste lost her cool. At 11-11, she committed a double-fault to hand the Swiss with a set point. Frustrated with herself, Baptiste decimated her racket by smashing it three times on the court.

She would eventually go on to lose the tiebreaker 14-16 but clinched the match by winning the third set 6-3. After the triumph, Baptiste had explained that even though she has worked persistently to control her anger during matches, she sometimes just has to let it all out.

“It’s been years of practicing and testing different methods, and I’ve come to the point where I have to let my anger out sometimes. But then I have to get right back to it and reset immediately for the next point,” she had said.

This win saw Baptiste set up a clash against Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinals. The 24-year-old ended up stunning the World No. 1 and claimed a monumental 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 victory. She is now set to face Mirra Andreeva in the semifinals of the Madrid Open.

Will Baptiste go on to clinch her first-ever title on the WTA Tour, or will her dream run in Madrid come to an end against Andreeva in the semis?