Serena Williams dropped her first clay-court match of 2021 in straight sets to Argentina's Nadia Podoroska.
The Spaniard eased past hard-hitting Alexei Popyrin but had some kind words for the young Australian
Stefanos Tsitsipas opened his 2021 Madrid Open campaign with a blistering performance against France's Benoit Paire.
Rafael Nadal cruised to an easy victory over birthday boy Carlos Alcaraz in the long awaited first meeting of the King of Clay and the teen talent.
Dominic Thiem's first clay-court match of 2021 was a dominant display. The Austrian was flawless in his straight sets takedown of American Marcos Giron on Tuesday in Madrid.