Medvedev Reaches Masters 1000 Milestone
Daniil Medvedev, with his 7 – 6 (3), 6 – 4 conquest against Alexander Bublik, achieved a new milestone by reaching at least the quarter-finals at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.
After the match Medvedev was quoted as saying, “It was a tough match. A lot of drop shots, and I got so tired in the end running for them. That’s when you lose your concentration and you start to play a bit worse. That’s what happened, but after the match he told me he was dead also. So good for me, at least I was not the only one”.
“Generally I felt like it was a good level. Some good points, some good serving. So it was a bit up and down, but I’m happy that I was able to stay more consistent and win it in the end”.
Alcaraz Equals Nadal’s Fourteen Match Winning Streak
Carlos Alcaraz has rivalled Rafael Nadal’s fourteen match winning streak at the Madrid Open and the Spaniard continues to be one of the favorites for the Madrid title.
This is the longest winning streak of any player since the founding of the tournament in 2002.
In Alcaraz’s win over Jan-Lennard Struff 6 – 3, 6 – 7(4), he is focusing on becoming the first player in history to win three straight titles at the ATP Masters Event.
“Honestly this match reminds of last year’s match,” Alcaraz said, “It was pretty difficult from the first point until the last one. It was a great fight and it was difficult. It was difficult for me to deal with my emotions, to handle certain moments, difficult moments in the match. Serving for the match, it was really difficult for me after that 40/0 up, but really happy that at the end it didn’t affect me with my game, with my mentality. I kept fighting. That’s all that matters and I’m really happy to get the win at the end.”
Sinner Wins Quarter-Final Seat
Top-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner prevailed over Russian Karen Khachanov 5 – 7, 6 – 3, 6 – 3 to reach the quarter-finals for the first time in Madrid.
Sinner commented, “I think today was really tough, because at some points he served really well, so it was tough to return. I made a couple of mistakes in the first set when he broke me, but this can happen. In the second set I tried to stay focused immediately, I broke him, and the confidence level raided a bit.”
“I was struggling when I was break points down in the early stages of the third set. I went through them, serving really well. Then after I felt a little bit better so I’m really happy and let’s see what’s coming in the next round.”
Cerundolo Derails Zverev
Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo advanced to the Madrid Open quarter-finals after earning his third Top Five win where he upset World Number Five Alexander Zverev 6 – 3, 6 – 4.
Cerundolo is the first Argentine to reach the quarter-finals in Madrid since Juan Martin del Potro reached the last eight in 2012.
Auger-Aliassime Routs Ruud
Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime advances to the Madrid Open quarter-finals after beating number six Norwegian Casper Ruud in an upset victory of 6 – 4, 7 – 5. Auger-Aliassime catapults into his ninth Masters 1000 quarter-finals.
Nadal Crashes
Czech Jiri Lehecka put in an incredible performance by defeating Rafael Nadal 7 – 5, 6 – 4 to advance to the quarter-finals.
This was Nadal’s last ever match in Madrid, his loss in the fourth round helping to mark the end of an era.
