We’re at the semi-finals of the 2024 Madrid Masters and it’s probably not the 4 players most would have expected, but we can look forward to exciting games today.
Many favorites ahead of the tournament are out, (Sinner, Alcaraz, Ruud…) some were beaten and some out with injuries. The only top 10 player left from the ATP ranks is Andrey Rublev which is now odds favorite at 2.60 at the tennis betting sites.
Let’s look closer at the two matches we have today.
Taylor Fritz vs Andrey Rublev
No 8 ranked Andrey Rublev came into Madrid with 4 straight losses (all in straight sets as well) against average opponents but has really found the form for this Masters event and is now favorite to win the title.
The comeback from being a set down to Alcaraz was the best we’ve seen from the Russian for a while and it was great to watch the aggressive Rublev again.
Taylor Fritz has a real run of good form and came into Madrid from a runner-up finish in Munich. So far he only lost a single set in the Spanish capital with wins over Luciano Darderi, Sebastian Baez, Hubert Hurkacz and Francisco Cerundolo. He likes the altitude and conditions in Madrid and with his powerful serve it feels he can beat basically anyone on a good day.
Predictions for Fritz vs Rublev
I really like what we’ve seen from Taylor Fritz lately, but today he’s up against a top player in form that is a great returner of the ball and if he can manage the Americans first serve he’s overall a stronger player looking at the groundstrokes and overall movement.
We’re betting on Rublev to reach the final of the Madrid Open, at odds 1.67 | -150.
Felix Auger Aliassime vs Jiri Lehecka
It’s hard knowing the real level of Auger Aliassime at the moment. He played some good tennis this week, especially taking down Ruud in straight sets, even though the Norwegian didn’t look at his best. He reached the semi-finals by the withdrawal of injured Jannik Sinner and it feels he hasn’t gotten the real top challenge yet.
30th seed Jiri Lehecka has looked focused and played great tennis at times. The win over Nadal was impressive but it’s hard to know, just how much of a challenge the King of Clay is nowadays. To reach the semis he won the first set over Medvedev after the Russian retired in the 2nd set.
Predictions for Auger Aliassime vs Lehecka
This should be a good battle, maybe not with long rallies but surely a lot of big hits from both ends.
I still see the Czech as the more consistent player and it feels he’s improving for each game.
Lehecka to reach the Madrid final, at odds 1.73 | -137.5.
