David Goffin needed all of his experience to outlast Italy's Luca Nardi on Thursday at the Italian Open, where the Belgian escaped a precarious position to book his spot in the second round at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000, here.
Fourth-seeded Casper Ruud advanced here on Wednesday with a 7-5, 7-6(1) win over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round of the Monte-Carlo Masters, the first clay-court Masters' event of the season.
While Daniil Medvedev of Russia will enter the US Open as the No. 1 player in the ATP Rankings, there may be a significant change in the standings in New York with five players vying for the top spot: Nadal, Medvedev, Alcaraz, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, and Casper Ruud of Norway.
The German caught Nadal out at the net with back-to-back passing shots at 4-2 and, two games later, he used his cross-court forehand to drag Nadal out of position and gain the decisive break.
Angelique Kerber demolished a lackluster Sharapova 6-1, 6-3 in a clash between two former World No.1s.
German rising star Alexander Zverev defeated the Swiss great Roger Federer in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4
