The ATP’s No. 1 begins a rare pursuit in Madrid: an attempt to become the first man to win five straight Masters 1000s since the format began in 1990.

After rolling through the Paris Masters last November, and then Indian Wells, Miami, and Monte Carlo this spring, he is trying to join the elite company of players who have mounted long Masters streaks. Djokovic won four straight on three different occasions, and Nadal did it once. Whatever unfolds in the Magic Box, the sequence so far is an early sign that he is headed into historically notable territory.

His opening opponent is the 29-year-old Bonzi. A Frenchman ranked 104 with a career high of 42, Bonzi is best known for beating Daniil Medvedev in the first round at both Wimbledon and the US Open last year. He has shown the strokes of a talented ball-striker and, in three prior meetings with Sinner, pushed two to a deciding set though he lost all three. Those matches came before Sinner rose to No. 1, and on Madrid’s fairly fast clay taking another set will be a taller task. Sinner has not previously gone deep at this tournament, which could add to his motivation this week. Winner: Sinner

On the WTA side the defending Roland Garros champion has been relatively quiet. Gauff won a match in Stuttgart last week and then saw her perfect record against Karolina Muchova end. Over the next seven weeks she must defend finalist’s points in Madrid and Rome and champion’s points in Paris to preserve her No. 3 ranking. Her run to the final in Miami, where she played close to her best, was an encouraging sign.

Gauff opens against Jeanjean, a 30-year-old Frenchwoman with a career-high ranking of 91. Their lone prior meeting came at the US Open in 2022, a 6-2, 6-3 win for Gauff. Jeanjean earned a couple of qualifying wins over Vekic and Masarova, but unless Gauff’s serve goes sideways she should have too much pace and speed. Winner: Gauff

A local 19-year-old, Jodar, takes a prime evening slot against the fifth seed, De Minaur. They have yet to meet. Jodar’s flat, skidding backhand and aggressive ball-striking have produced nine wins in his last 10 matches, a title and a semi this month, and he will test De Minaur’s defensive skills. De Minaur has struggled recently since his Rotterdam title in February, is 4-5 since then, and is just 6-6 in Madrid with no quarterfinals. Jodar will get his looks against an expert defender.

Episode 17 of The Big T focuses on two clear threads: the debate over Arthur Fils’ forehand and a reflective interview with Marcos Baghdatis. The show opened a conversation that began with a simple question posed on social media: “Is @ArthurFils FH the best in the men’s tennis game right now? @_markpetchey” Brad Gilbert replied that Fils’ “fearhand” is massive, while still favoring Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. That exchange led to a co-host debate with Coco Vandeweghe (48:00) about the top forehands on tour. “I think it’s definitely top three,” said Vandeweghe. Gilbert placed Joao Fonseca in his top three and slotted Fils fourth. Both offered honorable mentions: Coco went with Jakub Mensik; BG with Jiri Lehecka. As Vandeweghe noted, “The players from Czechia have such weight of shot, because they play on fast courts and need to get that depth really quickly,” says Vandeweghe, “and it’s a flatter ball that pushes you further and further back.”

The episode also revisited Marcos Baghdatis’ peak years and his transition to developing young players. Twenty years ago at the Australian Open Baghdatis reached the final during an era dominated by Roger Federer. The show reminded listeners that “Federer won all his Slam finals in four sets, over Rafael Nadal (Wimbledon), Andy Roddick (US Open) and…Marcos Baghdatis (Australian Open).” Baghdatis reflected on his own ambitions: “I wanted to be No. 1 in the world. I wanted to push myself more … I was not patient enough. Marcos Baghdatis” (15:30). His career-high reached No. 8; he finished 2006 ranked 12th. The interview covered career records against the era’s top players (1-7 vs Federer, 1-9 vs Nadal, 0-8 vs Novak Djokovic) and his current role as tournament director of the IMG Future Stars Tournament, helping prepare the next generation.

Looking ahead to Roland Garros, the hosts discussed the vacancy created by Alcaraz being sidelined through Madrid and potentially Roland Garros. Gilbert placed Djokovic first despite limited clay this season: “First, at 39 years young, I would still go—with no playing in him [on clay this season]—Djoker,” says Gilbert. He listed Alexander Zverev second and Fils third, while Coco offered Ben Shelton as an honorable mention following his Munich win. To share your top three forehands for men’s and women’s tennis, email thebigt@tennischannel.com [thebigt@tennischannel.com], or call 844-678-BIGT. New episodes drop every Wednesday.

Venus Williams returned to clay singles for the first time since 2021 but left Madrid with a doubles plan in place. The 45-year-old lost her opening match at the Mutua Madrid Open, falling to fellow wild card Kaitlin Quevedo, 6-2, 6-4. The defeat moved Williams to 0-7 on the year.

“All these things take adjustments. I started my practice on clay a couple weeks after Miami,” she told press afterwards. “I haven’t really played on clay in years. But I enjoy the clay, it’s fun. I played against a very inspired opponent today.”

Her stay at the Caja Mágica continues in doubles. Williams will team with Great Britain’s Katie Boulter in a first-time pairing at the event. “She asked me to play, or her coach did. I would like to think she asked me to play, and I was happy to say yes,” laughed Williams.

“She’s got great energy. She’s got a great attitude. She’s a fighter. I’m looking forward to playing with her because I think our energies will really match.”

I was happy to say yes. Venus Williams on playing with Katie Boulter

Boulter is the fifth player set to join forces with Williams in 2026. Williams previously partnered Elina Svitolina (Auckland), Ekaterina Alexandrova (Australian Open), Peyton Stearns (Austin) and Leylah Fernandez (Miami). Williams and Fernandez teamed up to reach the 2025 US Open quarterfinals.

Williams also confirmed she will not play in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome. “I have other commitments, unfortunately, so I’m really super sad about that, actually,” she said. “My husband is Italian, so we feel sad that we can’t be there. So we would love to keep it going on the clay.”