The former world No. 1 kept his hopes of a third straight Mutua Madrid Open title alive on Tuesday, defeating his German rival to reach the quarterfinals.

The No. 2 seed still believes Jannik Sinner is the favorite despite notching his 13th consecutive tournament victory Sunday.

The German is coming off his first career ATP title, but he got a rough draw in Madrid—starting with Munar.

Two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz hopes to get up and running on clay after missing the past two weeks with injury.

The 28th-ranked German player had lost on his previous three appearances in finals, but he converted five of 11 break points he earned against Fritz to win in an hour and 19 minutes.

The German is the first home winner of the singles title since Alexander Zverev in 2018.

On a miserable day of conditions, two-time reigning champ Holger Rune and No. 3 seed Taylor Fritz also advanced.

The No. 2 seed won his second match against Struff in a month, joining two-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas in the last eight.

The 26-year-old, who reached the semifinals of the Masters 1000 event in 2023, is expected to be overtaken by Ben Shelton on April 15.

Andrey Rublev is the defending champion at the ATP Masters 1000 event.