Urgency: Following Carlos Alcaraz’s horrific accident, which resulted in…
To get to the semifinals, Rublev defeated Alcaraz, the home team’s favorite, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Entering the match, the seventh-seeded Rublev was 0-1 head-to-head versus Alcaraz and had lost his previous five matches against top-three opponents.
In addition, he had lost his previous four matches going into the Madrid Open.
All of that looked like a distant memory in the quarterfinals against Alcaraz, when Rublev shocked the world no. three from Spain and advanced to the seventh different Masters 1000 tournament semifinals, winning a complete set of nine games.
Due to a forearm injury, Alcaraz was unable to compete in the clay-court events in Monte Carlo and Barcelona last month. On Tuesday, he overcame Jan-Lennard Struff, the winner of the previous year’s championship, in the fourth round by requiring a third-set tiebreak.
But he was unable to stave off a motivated Rublev, and his attempt to become the first person to win three straight titles in Madrid came to an abrupt end.
With at least one win over every player in the current world’s top 10, Rublev stated, “I think the key was that I think it was one of my first matches that I was fully calm all the match, I didn’t say one word, even if I was losing.”
Alcaraz had a commanding opening set, winning the fifth game and breaking the serve to take a 41-minute lead. However, Rublev came prepared to win the next two sets and the match in under two hours, hitting thirty wins along route.
In the final four, he will either face Francisco Cerundolo or Taylor Fritz.
Alcaraz reports that, all things considered, this week in Madrid has been good, but he acknowledges that, discomfort or not, he is still concerned about his forearm.
“I think my forearm hurt more today than it did during the match yesterday. After spending three hours playing yesterday, I figured I would either feel something or think about it more.
The two-time Grand Slam champion said, “I’m going to Rome,” acknowledging that he must exercise patience as he heals. I’m going to make a decision these days, but I’m going to work to be almost 100% or to play Rome well.
Sinner disclosed that he has been struggling with a hip ailment this week in the Spanish capital. Sinner was scheduled to play Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
This week, my hip has been troubling me and has been gradually becoming more uncomfortable. Sinner posted a statement on social media, saying, “We decided it’s best not to play further and make it worse after taking the doctors’ advise.”
The Italian has won three titles at the Australian Open, Rotterdam, and Miami this season after winning 28 of the 30 matches he has participated in.
Sinner is scheduled to compete at the Italian Open in Rome the following week, his home field, before launching an offensive at the French Open, the second major of the season, which gets underway in Paris on May 26.
