Madrid Open: Carlos Alcaraz sails into next round after seeing off Alexander Shevchenko

The Spaniard broke Shevchenko seven times throughout the match in a dominant victory which saw him set up a third-round meeting with Thiago Seyboth Wild.

Speaking on Sky Sports after his victory, Alcaraz – who has now won 12 consecutive matches in Madrid – said: "I think I did pretty well, honestly the last month I just practiced slices, volleys and backhands, so I think it worked pretty well today.

"That's something I was thinking about approaching this match, trying to hit the forehand really softer and I'm trying to be aggressive with the backhand, trying to crash the net as soon as possible. I think I did a really good match in that part."

Alcaraz missed the previous Monte-Carlo and Barcelona tournaments due to injury and was wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm during the game.

When asked if his arm was still troubling him, Alcaraz replied: "Not at all, but I'm thinking about it.

"It's not going to leave my mind I think… coming into this week, I've been doing good things in practice, hitting harder, but I'm not feeling comfortable playing my forehand 100 per cent.

"But I think playing at this level, I'm really happy to do it. I think I can be competitive."

Andrey Rublev won his round-two clash with a straight-sets victory against Facundo Bagnis, while defending women's champion Aryna Sabalenka also got off to a winning start after beating Magda Linette 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the second round.

World number four Elena Rybakina, who won the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Sunday, also reached the third round with a 6-3 6-4 win over Lucia Bronzetti.

Jack Draper has been knocked out of the Madrid Open after losing in straight sets to Hubert Hurkacz.

The world number nine reached the third round of the tournament with a 6-1 7-5 victory over the Briton.

Hurkacz cruised through the opening set, leading 5-0 before Draper pulled one back and hit his third ace of the match in the seventh on his way to sealing the set.

Draper took the first game of the second set and Hurkacz levelled with a stylish drop shot at the net, but Draper began to edge ahead.

However, Hurkacz levelled at 5-5 and turned the match back in his favour, breaking Draper in the 11th game before securing his spot in the next round with a fantastic forehand slammed down the right on match point.