Madrid - Espagne
2024-04-23 / 2024-05-05
The tournament was created for men in 1972 and became a combined event in 2009, when it settled in the Caja Magica in Madrid. A Masters 1000 for the men and Premier Mandatory for women, it is an important entry on the clay schedule. The ATP tournament was played indoors from 2002 to 2008, but has been loyal to the ochre clay ever since. In 2012, organisers experimented with a blue clay, that was quickly abandoned become of its poor quality and criticism from players. With Ion Tiriac as manager and Manolo Santana as director, the still-young tournament is not as prestigious as Rome or Monte Carlo, but it is a mandatory stop in the run-up to Roland-Garros. Rafael Nadal has the record for most titles with five. In 2020, Andy Murray won the “virtual” tournament, a first caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. No French player, male or female, has won in Madrid, but Kristina Mladenovic did lose in an exquisite final against Simona Halep in 2017.
