The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Alcaraz pulls out three-set win, reaches quarterfinals in Madrid
After two comfortable victories, Carlos Alcaraz was put to the test Tuesday at the Madrid Open.
The two-time defending champion, who is coming off a right forearm injury, needed nearly three hours to defeat 24th-ranked Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (4) in a rematch of last year’s final in the Spanish capital.
The second-seeded Alcaraz squandered four match points while serving for the victory at 5-3 but converted on his first opportunity to seal the victory in the deciding tiebreaker at the Caja Magica center court.
“I wasn’t at my best physically toward the end of the match, but I’m happy that in the end I found my game,” Alcaraz said. “I fought for every ball and didn’t let down despite some difficult moments when things didn’t go my way.”
Alcaraz is trying to become the first player to win three straight Madrid Open titles. He also needed three sets to beat Struff in last year’s final. The world No. 3 next will face seventh-seeded Andrey Rublev at the clay-court tournament.
Alcaraz, 20, had not played in Monte Carlo and Barcelona to try to fully recover ahead of the French Open. He beat Alexander Shevchenko and Thiago Seyboth Wild in straight sets in his first two matches in Madrid.
Top-seeded Jannick Sinner defeated 16th-seeded Karen Khachanov 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the Madrid quarterfinals for the first time. He is the only player to make it to the quarterfinals at all four ATP 1000 events this season.
Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev was given the run-around by Alexander Bublik before winning 7-6 (3), 6-4. Medvedev next will play either five-time champion Rafael Nadal or 30th-seeded Jiri Lehecka.
World No. 8 Rublev defeated Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-4 for his third consecutive straight-set win in Madrid.
Francisco Cerundolo, ranked 22nd, upset two-time champion Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4 for his third career win over a top-five player. Cerundolo has Taylor Fritz next after the American defeated Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (2), 6-4.
On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek came from a set down to defeat Beatriz Haddad Maia 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 and reach the semifinals for a second straight year.
The top-ranked Swiatek was up 4-1 in the first set but the 14th-ranked Brazilian rallied. Swiatek regained control in the final two sets to reach her fifth semifinal of the year.
She will next face eighth-seeded Ons Jabeur, who is a former champion, or 18th-seeded Madison Keys.