Tiafoe, Opelka and Fritz win in Madrid, with big opportunities up next

Party like it's 2009? That's the last time all American men won their first-round matches in Madrid—and if Steve Johnson defeats John Millman on Tuesday, the feat will be repeated a decade later.

On Monday, Frances Tiafoe, Taylor Fritz and Reilly Opelka each won on the high-altitude red clay at the Caja Magica, giving reason to drum up the aforementioned stat. Tiafoe, a quarterfinalist last week in Estoril, upset 14th seed Nikoloz Basilashvili, 6-7 (8), 6-3, 6-4. He'll face Philipp Kohlschreiber in the second round, with the winner facing either Rafael Nadal or Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Opelka, who qualified for Madrid, ousted Pablo Carreno Busta, 7-6 (5), 6-4. The Spaniard is still working his way back into form from a shoulder injury, but the simple fact that Opelka won in straight sets and didn't play two tiebreakers is impressive nonetheless.

In a potentially dangerous second-rounder, the super server will face Dominic Thiem, whose clay-court stock rose with his win over 11-time champion Nadal in Barcelona.

Last but not least, Fritz, who also qualified for Madrid, ousted Grigor Dimitrov by the Opelka-like score of 7-6 (8), 7-6 (4). This is Fritz's fourth clay-court tournament of the season, having already reached the round of 16 in Monte Carlo before going 1-2 in Barcelona and Estoril.

Up next for Fritz is the very man who defeated him in Monte Carlo, Novak Djokovic. While another defeat should be expected, an improvement on the score—it was 6-3, 6-0 in Monaco—should also be anticipated.

It was a strange year on clay in 2009. Nadal lost for the first time at Roland Garros, and in Madrid, he lost to Federer in the final by a straight-sets score. En route to the Madrid title, Federer defeated James Blake in the third round and Andy Roddick in the fourth.

It's been a strange year on clay so far in 2019, with Nadal losing at two stronghold tournaments, Fabio Fognini taking Monte Carlo, and Djokovic needing a deep run or two in Madrid or Rome to regain a semblance of momentum heading into Paris. Tiafoe, Opelka and Fritz will have an opportunity to add to the strangeness, considering their upcoming and potential opponents.