Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic earned his first career top-10 win, toppling No. 4 seed Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5) in a marathon three-hour match to reach the third round of the Madrid Open on Friday.

Prizmic, 20, was excellent on his serve, winning 70.6% of his service points (77 of 109) and never facing a break point in the match. Shelton had twice as many aces (10-5) and more winners (44-31) but also more unforced errors (44-28).

Prizmic is through to the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.

“It means a lot,” Prizmic said after the win. “Today was a very hard match for me and I just tried to play my game, stay focused every point and it definitely worked today. I’m working a lot with my team to stay calm on the important points, but (Shelton) is No. 6 in the world. … I was waiting for my chances, and I took them in the end.”

Shelton saved 5 of 6 break points. The only break of the match, down 5-4 in the first set, proved to be the difference, snapping his five-match winning streak.

Prizmic wasn’t the only player to secure his first career top-10 victory on Friday. Spanish wild card Rafael Jodar, playing in his hometown, coasted past No. 5 Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-3, 6-1 in 75 minutes.

Jodar, 19, won nearly as many of his return points (57.6%) as he did service points (61.2%), converting 6 of 13 break-point chances. de Minaur had just three winners and 26 unforced errors.

Jodar, who won his first ATP title earlier this month in Marrakech and then made the Barcelona semifinals, will face Brazilian 19-year-old Joao Fonseca, who advanced over Croatia’s Marin Cilic via walkover, in a battle of the two youngest top-100 ranked players for a Round of 16 spot.

There was plenty of other Friday carnage with seeded competitors losing their opening matches. No. 9 Russian Andrey Rublev fell 6-3, 6-4 to Czech Vit Kopriva; No. 14 Valentin Vacherot of Monaco lost 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1), 6-3 to Emilio Nava; and No. 15 Tommy Paul was defeated by Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante 7-5, 6-4.

No. 32 Canadian Gabriel Diallo was forced to retire due to an injury against qualifier Elmer Moller of Denmark when down 7-5, 3-3.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner nearly joined the ranks of the early exits, but rallied for a 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4 win over French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi to secure his 18th straight victory.

A number of seeded players took care of business. No. 6 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy swept Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz 6-4, 7-6 (4). No. 22 Arthur Rinderknech of France blew past Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-2. No. 25 Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina bested Austria’s Sebastian Ofner 6-4, 6-4, and Dutch 29th seed Tallon Griekspoor held off Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Damir Dzumhur 6-3, 6-4.

In three-set action, No. 11 Czech Jiri Lehecka rallied for a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 triumph over Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo; No. 19 Brit Cameron Norrie outlasted Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5); and No. 21 Arthur Fils of France pulled off a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 7-5 comeback victory over Peru’s Ignacio Buse.

In the only matchup of the day between unseeded foes, Alex Michelsen routed Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 6-1 in 58 minutes.

–Field Level Media

Houston Rockets star Kevin Durant is set to miss his second game of the Western Conference first-round playoff series against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers.

Less than 90 minutes before tipoff of Game 3 on Friday night in Houston, the Rockets ruled out Durant due to a left ankle sprain. He had been considered questionable.

The Rockets enter the game already in a 2-0 series hole.

Durant missed Game 1 after reportedly bumping knees with a teammate in practice and coming away with a bruised tendon. He returned for Game 2 on Tuesday and played 41 minutes, putting up 23 points, six rebounds and four assists but committing nine turnovers.

The Lakers won 101-94, and Durant suffered his ankle sprain during the course of that game.

In his first campaign with Houston, Durant, 37, had his healthiest season in seven years. He played 78 of a possible 82 regular-season games, matching his total from 2018-19 with the Golden State Warriors.

If the Lakers beat the short-handed Rockets on Friday, Houston will be on the verge of getting swept when the teams reconvened for Game 4 on Sunday.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Flyers are soaring through their first-round playoff series, but the status of goaltender Dan Vladar is unclear heading into Saturday’s Game 4 against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins.

Philadelphia leads the best-of-seven series 3-0 after notching a pair of wins in Pittsburgh followed by a 5-2 home victory Wednesday. Vladar made 27 saves in Game 3 but injured his right arm during a chaotic sequence in front of the net in the third period.

He rested both Thursday and Friday and is listed as a game-time decision as he hopes to take the ice for the potential series clincher on Saturday.

“It’s another maintenance day for him,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said Friday. “Two days off is going to help him. That’s basically it for him. We’ll see how he is (Saturday).”

After a strong regular season, Vladar has a .946 save percentage in this series, including a shutout in Game 2. If he cannot play Saturday, Samuel Ersson will make his postseason debut.

“I feel like I’m in a good spot with my game,” said Ersson, who has not played since April 14.

Of course, it will help either goaltender if the Flyers continue to receive scoring production from up and down their lineup. The team had five different goal scorers in Game 3, including four players who registered their first career playoff tally.

Trevor Zegras and Noah Cates each had a goal and an assist for Philadelphia, which has won six straight games dating back to the regular season. The Flyers will try to ride the momentum of their home crowd to their first series victory since 2020.

“That was the craziest building I’ve ever played in,” defenseman Nick Seeler said of the Game 3 atmosphere. “The fans were fantastic.”

Part of the chaotic atmosphere was a product of a penalty-filled second period in which the teams combined for 17 penalties. Penguins coach Dan Muse was not happy about how the officials handled the physicality in that period, but his squad doesn’t have time to dwell on their recent losses.

“We have to win a hockey game,” Muse said. “So, we’ll have a practice (Friday) and get ready for that game and then go into that game and we need to win a game. That’s entirely where the focus is right now.”

Evgeni Malkin and Erik Karlsson scored in Game 3 for Pittsburgh, which has dropped six straight contests, going back to the regular season. Malkin has two goals in this series, although that’s as many as his teammates have combined.

“Now we’re going to see what we’re really made of,” Karlsson said. “Now it’s do-or-die. The toughest game to win is that fourth one, so hopefully we can start by winning one.”

Only four teams in NHL history have come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win the final four games. It hasn’t happened in more than a decade – the Los Angeles Kings turned the trick against the San Jose Sharks in 2014 — and the Penguins have never accomplished it.

“There’s not much room for error when you’re in this position. That’s reality,” Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said. “But the fact is, we’ve got to win a game. That’s got to be our focus. You can’t grab three on Saturday. You’ve got to win one.”

–Field Level Media