World number one Novak Djokovic stormed past Lorenzo Musetti to reach the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters.
The 36-year-old lost to the Italian in the same competition a year ago but made no mistakes this time around to secure his place in the last eight with a 7-5 6-3 victory.
Djokovic said he does not think he is at his “top level” but is now set to face Alex de Minaur for a semi-final berth.
The Australian assured himself of a clash with Djokovic after a comfortable 6-3 6-4 victory over compatriot Alexei Popyrin.
Fourth seed Daniil Medvedev was beaten 6-3 7-5 by Karen Khachanov to end a rocky week in Monaco a day on from being asked by an umpire not to shout at a line judge.
Khachanov’s reward is a quarter-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, the Greek having overcome Alexander Zverev 7-5 7-5 (3).
Second seed Jannik Sinner cruised through with a 6-4 6-2 over Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
That sets up a quarter-final tie with Holger Rune, who came through both his round of 32 and round of 16 games on Thursday across six sets.
Firstly, he beat qualifier Sumit Nagal 6-3 3-6 6-2 before moving on to a three-and-a-half-hour clash with Grigor Dimitrov which he eventually won 7-6 (9) 3-6 7-6 (2).
Friday’s upcoming schedule was completed as Casper Ruud beat Hubert Hurkacz 6-4 6-2 and will meet Ugo Humbert who recovered from a set down to beat Lorenzo Sonego 7-5 6-3 6-1.
Auger-Aliassime gets the better of Ruud as Medvedev hits Masters 1000 milestone
Casper Ruud's hopes of building on his victory at the Barcelona Open were ended as he lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Madrid Open.
Auger-Aliassime will now face top seed Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, after claiming a 6-4 7-5 victory over the fifth seed Ruud on Tuesday.
Ruud, runner-up at last year's French Open and a force to be reckoned with on clay, won in Barcelona earlier in April, but came unstuck against the Canadian.
It was not the only shock exit, as Alexander Zverev, the world number five, succumbed in straight sets to Francisco Cerundolo.
Earlier, Daniil Medvedev claimed his place in the quarters, in which he could face Rafael Nadal, by beating Alexander Bublik 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.
Data Debrief: Medvedev's milestone
Five of the six quarter-finals Medvedev has reached on clay have come at either ATP Masters 1000 or grand slam level.
He has now reached at least the quarter-final stage at all nine Masters events, too.
Alcaraz matches Nadal record as reigning champion scrapes into Madrid Open quarters
Jan-Lennard Struff made life difficult for Carlos Alcaraz, but the reigning Madrid Champion eventually made it through.
Alcaraz had won both of his opening games with the minimum of fuss, but he needed three sets to get beyond Struff, who won a second-set tie-break.
However, Alcaraz eventually prevailed in the decider, clinching a 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4) victory.
Alcaraz, who is in the hunt for a third straight title in Madrid, will now face seventh-seed Andrey Rublev for a place in the last four.
Data Debrief: Prodigal son matches the master
There have been plenty of comparisons between Alcaraz and his fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
And with his win on Tuesday, Alcaraz matched Nadal's record for the longest winning run at the Madrid Open, at 14 matches, since the tournament began in 2002.
Sinner fights back to reach first Madrid Open quarter-final
Jannik Sinner has booked his place in the Madrid Open quarter-final, going the distance to beat Karen Khachanov 5-7 6-3 6-3 on Tuesday.
The top seed dropped a set for the first time at the tournament as an in-form Khachanov, but he shook off the concerns of a lingering hip injury to make a comeback.
After winning the second set, he then saved both break points he faced in the decider, finishing off a contest that lasted over two hours.
Sinner has reached the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time and will face either Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime next.
Data debrief: Sinner overcomes first big test
Not only has the 22-year-old become the only player to reach the quarter-final at all four Master 1000 events in 2024, but he is the first to achieve that feat since Milos Raonic in 2016.
Sinner has also become the first Italian player to make the quarter-finals of all three existing ATP Masters 1000 events on clay, since 2009 when the Madrid Open took the place of the Hamburg Masters.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
