Carlos Alcaraz is primed to become world number one once again after defending his Madrid Open title.
The Spaniard, who turned 20 on Saturday, beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4 3-6 6-3 to complete the Spanish double for the second successive year following his victory in Barcelona a fortnight ago.
Success in the capital means he will return to the summit of the rankings, displacing Novak Djokovic, if he plays the next ATP Tour event in Rome.
Alcaraz’s latest win came amid the news Rafael Nadal will miss the Italian Open as he continues to recover from a hip injury, and with Djokovic also nursing an elbow problem he is rapidly establishing himself as the French Open favourite.
German Struff became the first lucky loser to reach the final at a Masters 1000 event and gave Alcaraz a tough match, having taken the second set to force a decider.
But Alcaraz was too good and came through to defend his title on home clay.
“For me it is so, so special,” Alcaraz said on the ATP Tour website. “To lift the trophy here in Madrid. In my country. It is always special to play and to be able to do a good result here and (being) a champion is so special.
“In front of my home crowd, my family, my friends. Everyone close to me. For me it is a special feeling that I will never forget.
“It was a really tough match. Jan was playing great, really aggressive. In the second set I had a lot of chances to break his serve and I didn’t take it and it was tough for me to lose it.
“I told myself that I had to be positive all the time and that I would have my chances and I think I did it in the third set.”
Carlos Alcaraz remains on course to defend his Madrid Open title after he powered past a determined Karen Khachanov to reach the last four.
The top seed eventually prevailed 6-4 7-5 but only after he staged an impressive fight back in the second set to book a third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
Alcaraz’s clay-court winning streak now stands at nine and he has tasted victory in 19 of his past 20 matches, claiming title triumphs in Indian Wells and Barcelona along the way.
A hard-fought opener went the way of the Spaniard, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Friday, but the second set did not initially go to plan.
Khachanov built up a 5-2 lead and looked set to force a decider only for Alcaraz to find his A-game with a string of winners and drop shots to eventually earn victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
“It was pretty tough. The first set as well, it was close,” said Alcaraz.
“I was in trouble in the second set, a break down and [he had] two break points to have the second break. So, it was really tough for me to come back and he had his chances to win the second set.
“Luckily I knew I was going to have my chances. I just tried to take my opportunities and I’m really happy to get through.”
Borna Coric will face Alcaraz for a place in the Madrid Open final on Friday in what will be their first ever meeting.
The Croatian got the better of lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-3 with victory achieved in one hour and 14 minutes for the 17th seed.
“I always love to play here in Madrid,” Coric said on-court.
“I have very, very nice memories from here and I knew I could play well.
“I came here very early to prepare myself for the tournament, as it’s, I would say, a little bit different to the next tournaments. I’m just very happy to be in the semi-finals.”
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Meanwhile, Andy Murray snapped his losing streak with victory over Gael Monfils in an ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
After first-round exits at the Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, Murray was able to return to winning ways with a 6-3 6-3 win over wild-card Monfils.
Murray will face another Frenchmen in Laurent Lokoli in the last-16 and aim to build momentum before this month’s French Open at Roland Garros.
Carlos Alcaraz remains on course to defend his Madrid Open title after he powered past a determined Karen Khachanov to reach the last four.
The top seed eventually prevailed 6-4 7-5 but only after he staged an impressive fight back in the second set to book a third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
Alcaraz’s clay-court winning streak now stands at nine and he has tasted victory in 19 of his past 20 matches, claiming title triumphs in Indian Wells and Barcelona along the way.
A hard-fought opener went the way of the Spaniard, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Friday, but the second set did not initially go to plan.
Khachanov built up a 5-2 lead and looked set to force a decider only for Alcaraz to find his A-game with a string of winners and drop shots to eventually earn victory in one hour and 51 minutes.
“It was pretty tough. The first set as well, it was close,” said Alcaraz.
“I was in trouble in the second set, a break down and [he had] two break points to have the second break. So, it was really tough for me to come back and he had his chances to win the second set.
“Luckily I knew I was going to have my chances. I just tried to take my opportunities and I’m really happy to get through.”
Borna Coric will face Alcaraz for a place in the Madrid Open final on Friday in what will be their first ever meeting.
The Croatian got the better of lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-3 with victory achieved in one hour and 14 minutes for the 17th seed.
“I always love to play here in Madrid,” Coric said on-court.
“I have very, very nice memories from here and I knew I could play well.
“I came here very early to prepare myself for the tournament, as it’s, I would say, a little bit different to the next tournaments. I’m just very happy to be in the semi-finals.”
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Meanwhile, Andy Murray snapped his losing streak with victory over Gael Monfils in an ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence.
After first-round exits at the Miami Open, Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, Murray was able to return to winning ways with a 6-3 6-3 win over wild-card Monfils.
Murray will face another Frenchmen in Laurent Lokoli in the last-16 and aim to build momentum before this month’s French Open at Roland Garros.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz made light work of Grigor Dimitrov to cruise into the last 16 of the Madrid Open with a straight-sets win on Sunday.
The Spaniard thrilled the home crowd at Caja Magica to reach the fourth round in style with a 6-2 7-5 victory.
Dimitrov lost his serve twice in a ruthless first-set rout and could not mount a comeback despite a spirited attempted recovery against the world number two.
Alcaraz's victory sets up a fascinating fourth-round clash with Alexander Zverev in a repeat of last year's final.
Zverev himself secured fast passage from the third round with a 6-1 6-0 win over Hugo Grenier.
Alcaraz and Zverev are joined in the last 16 by Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov after their respective victories against Yoshihito Nishioka and Roberto Bautista Agut.
There is no place for 12th seed Hubert Hurkacz, however, after he fell to a 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 loss against Borna Coric.
Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas progressed to the third round of the Madrid Open but there was no such luck for Felix Auger-Aliassime on Saturday.
Second seed Medvedev cruised past Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori 6-4 6-3, teeing up a meeting with Alexander Shevchenko, who overcame Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.
Tsitsipas was made to work by Dominic Thiem, but the fourth seed battling from a set down to win 3-6 6-1 7-6 (7-5).
World number 40 Dusan Lajovic provided the shock of the day by defeating seventh seed Auger-Aliassime 6-2 3-6 7-6 (7-5).
Denis Shapovalov, the 21st seed, was another surprise second-round loser, falling 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 7-6 (7-1) to China's Zhang Zhizhen.
Taylor Fritz avoided adding to the list of notable early eliminations in the Spanish capital, the eighth seed battling to a 7-6 (13-11) 6-4 victory over Christopher O'Connell.
Fritz's fellow American Frances Tiafoe progressed with a 6-3 7-6 (7-5) triumph over Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry, while 14th seed Tommy Paul crashed out after a 6-3 7-6 (7-3) defeat to Roman Safiullin.
Seeds Alex de Minaur and Sebastian Baez also navigated their way through to the third round, defeating Marco Cecchinato and Marcos Giron respectively, as did Cameron Norrie at the expense of Yosuke Watanuki.
Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare in the opening match of his Madrid Open title defence as he came from behind to beat Emil Ruusuvuori.
The defending champion, who defeated Alexander Zverev in last year's final, was twice broken in the opening set by Ruusuvuori but responded well to prevail 2-6 6-4 6-2.
Alcaraz hit 36 winners to his opponent's 23 to reach the last 32, where Grigor Dimitrov awaits after defeating Gregoire Barrere 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-2).
"It was really tough. I would say I was about to lose," Alcaraz said in his on-court interview. "It was really tough. Emil played unbelievably, but I am really happy to get through that."
There was a shock result elsewhere as third seed Casper Ruud lost 6-3 6-4 to Matteo Arnaldi, who had never previously claimed victory over a top-10 opponent.
Arnaldi previously eliminated Benoit Paire and will now take on Jaume Munar – the Spaniard advancing after Tallon Griekspoor retired when a set behind in their second-round tie.
Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev continued his good form on the clay courts with a 7-5 6-4 win against Stan Wawrinka.
Elena Rybakina made a second-round exit from the Madrid Open as a difficult start to the clay campaign continued for the Australian Open runner-up and Indian Wells champion.
After abandoning a last-16 clash with Beatriz Haddad Maia last week in Stuttgart due to a back injury, this time Rybakina lasted the distance against Anna Kalinskaya but suffered a 7-5 4-6 6-2 defeat. She had benefitted from a first-round bye but was found wanting on Friday.
World number 60 Kalinskaya got the better of the seventh-ranked Rybakina in two hours and 13 minutes, avenging a defeat at the same stage in Miami last month to her fellow Moscow-born player.
Iga Swiatek made no such mistake in her opening match, after also receiving a first-round bye, with the world number one posting a 6-3 6-2 win over Austria's Julia Grabher.
Swiatek led by an early break in the second set but was broken back; however, she was soon back in the ascendancy and made sure of a place in the last-32 stage of a tournament she elected to miss last year due to a minor injury.
Third seed Jessica Pegula was tested by Poland's Magdalena Frech, but the American came through 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in an hour and 41 minutes. Pegula was runner-up to Ons Jabeur in last year's final.
Pegula's fellow US player, Alycia Parks, continued to catch the eye as the 22-year-old ousted 15th seed Victoria Azarenka, defeating the former world number one 6-2 7-6 (7-5).
Parks, who has rocketed from 150th in the rankings last November to 40th place on that list, now holds a 4-1 career winning record against opponents ranked inside the WTA's top 20.
Former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, seeded 11th, was tested by Danka Kovinic before powering through a deciding set to win 6-3 4-6 6-0 against the Montenegrin.
Eugenie Bouchard, meanwhile, was no match for Martina Trevisan, with the Italian running out a 6-2 7-5 winner from a clash with Canada's former Wimbledon runner-up.
Anastasia Potapova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova and Bernarda Pera were among other seeded winners as the last-32 line-up took shape, but 25th seed Jil Teichmann was beaten, going down 3-6 6-2 6-4 to Lesia Tsurenko.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz dug in to avoid a shock loss against Emil Ruusuvuori and reach the third round of the Madrid Open.
The young Spaniard thrilled his home fans last year by defeating Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal on his way to the title, establishing himself as not just the future but the present of men’s tennis.
He was in brilliant form last week as he successfully defended his Barcelona Open title but looked on the way out early in Madrid before turning the match around to win 2-6 6-4 6-2.
Errors flowed from the Alcaraz racket during the first set against powerful Finn Ruusuvuori, ranked 41.
Normally so composed, the 19-year-old threw his racket in frustration early in the second set but the turning point came in a long sixth game where he saved five break points before eventually holding.
He broke the Ruusuvuori serve in the next game and did not look back, going on to dominate the deciding set and move through to a clash with Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated Gregoire Barrere.
Casper Ruud’s troubles continued, though, the third seed suffering another early defeat, this time losing 6-3 6-4 to Italian qualifier Matteo Arnaldi.
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev edged out Stan Wawrinka 7-5 6-4 while fellow Russian Karen Khachanov was a 6-3 3-6 6-3 winner against Thiago Monteiro.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray has reacted to the disappointment of his defeat by Andrea Vassavori on Thursday by taking a wild card into next week’s Challenger tournament in Aix-en-Provence.
Aryna Sabalenka is through to the round of 32 at the Madrid Open after beating Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-3 on Thursday.
It was an ominous start for Cirstea, being broken to love in the opening game, but she stuck with second seed Sabalenka and broke back, before ultimately being pipped to the first set by the impressive Belarusian.
The key was on break points, with Sabalenka claiming all five that she won against the Cirstea serve, while saving six of eight on her own as she ultimately eased to victory.
Sabalenka now has 26 wins on clay in the WTA since 2021, with only Ons Jabeur (37), Iga Swiatek (34), Paula Badosa (31) and Coco Gauff (28) having more during this time.
Gauff also advanced after a routine 6-4 6-1 win over Irene Burillo Escorihuela, making the sixth seed in Madrid the first player to win 35 WTA-1000 main draw matches as a teenager since 2009.
Ninth seed Maria Sakkari defeated Arantxa Rus 6-4 6-4 and fifth seed Caroline Garcia also had few problems against Yulia Putintseva, winning 6-3 6-4.
However, it was not a good day for 10th seed Petra Kvitova, who was beaten 7-6 (11-9) 6-1 by Jule Niemeier, while 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia also lost, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 to Mirra Andreeva and 20th seed Donna Vekic was eliminated in straight-sets by Rebeka Masarova.
Jelena Ostapenko took just 61 minutes to get past Linda Fruhvirtova 6-0 6-3, and will face 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova next, who did not take much longer to see off Maryna Zanevska 6-2 6-3.
There were also wins for Elise Mertens, Badosa, Camila Osorio, Shelby Rogers, Mayar Sherif, Magda Linette and Irina-Camelia Begu.
Dominic Thiem cruised through the first round of the Madrid Open in straight sets on Thursday, while former winner Andy Murray suffered an early exit.
Thiem, who has twice finished as runner-up at this event, made short work of Britain's Kyle Edmund in a 6-4 6-1 win to set up a second-round meeting with fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The Austrian won 86 per cent of points on his first serve (24 of 28) and saved all four break points against him as Edmund just could not get himself into the contest.
Elsewhere, Murray, who claimed titles in Madrid in 2008 and 2015, could not embark on another such run, with the veteran dispatched by Andrea Vavassori in a 6-2 7-6 (9-7) defeat.
The Italian was particularly dominant at the net against Murray, winning 13 of 17 such points, while the 35-year-old managed just five of 14.
Qualifier Roman Safiullin saw off a fightback from Chile Open winner Nicolas Jarry to progress 6-2 3-6 6-3, setting up a clash with Tommy Paul in the second round, while Dusan Lajovic followed up his win at the Srpska Open by beating Jason Kubler 6-3 6-3.
US Open finalists in 2021, neither Emma Raducanu nor Leylah Fernandez made it beyond the first round at the Madrid Open.
Raducanu, who is set to drop out of the WTA's top 100, withdrew from her first-round meeting with Viktoriya Tomova on Wednesday due to a hand injury.
The 20-year-old Briton has endured a difficult season, with her best performance coming at the Indian Wells Open, where she lost to world number one Iga Swiatek in the last 16.
Fellow youngster Fernandez has also struggled, and she came unstuck against world number 194 Mirra Andreeva, who progressed 6-3 6-4.
The big shock came as Jaqueline Cristian, ranked 525th in the singles rankings, defeated 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Having taken the first set, Stephens looked set to book her place in round two, only for Romanian Cristian to prevail 5-7 6-4 6-4.
Alize Cornet overcame world number 39 Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 6-3, while Camila Giorgi was forced to retire from her match with Mayar Sherif before the start of a deciding third set, and Amanda Anisimova was another top-50 casualty.
Rebeka Masarova, Nuria Parrizas Diaz, Marina Bassols Ribera and Irene Burillo Escorihuela carried the flag for Spain into the next round.
Eugenie Bouchard got the better of Dayana Yastremska as her return to top-level tennis continues.
Stan Wawrinka recovered from a set behind to overcome Maxime Cressy and set up a second-round showdown with Andrey Rublev at the Madrid Open.
Three-time grand slam winner Wawrinka, who is the oldest player in the main draw, hit back in the Spanish capital to progress 6-7 (7-3) 6-3 7-6 (7-4).
The 38-year-old won 46 of 54 first-serve points and now has a couple of days to recover before facing fifth seed Rublev, who was handed a bye to the last 32.
Roberto Carballes Baena is also through after defeating David Goffin 6-4 6-4, with Alexander Zverev up next, while Alex Molcan saw off Wu Yibing 6-2 6-4.
There was a shock elsewhere on Wednesday as Diego Schwartzman was downed in straight sets by Hugo Grenier.
Emma Raducanu has withdrawn from the Madrid Open just hours before she was due on court for her first round match because of an injury to her right hand.
Raducanu travelled to the Spanish capital hoping to end a run of three straight defeats and was due to start her campaign against lucky loser Viktoriya Tomova on Wednesday afternoon.
A fourth straight loss would have constituted the worst run of Raducanu’s career but the tournament’s official Twitter account disclosed on Wednesday morning that the Briton had withdrawn from the event.
??@EmmaRaducanu withdraws from the Mutua Madrid Open due to injury in her right hand.
Get well soon!?@WTA | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/5CCZZPlZON
— #MMOPEN (@MutuaMadridOpen) April 26, 2023
The 20-year-old has had a stop-start season so far because of an ankle injury and more worries over the wrist issue that ended her 2022 campaign prematurely.
She reached the last-32 in Indian Wells last month but was eliminated by world number one Iga Swiatek and succumbed in the first round at both the Miami Open and Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
While running Bianca Andreescu close in a three-set defeat in Miami, Raducanu won just three games in Germany last week as she was thrashed by Jelena Ostapenko.
As a result of her withdrawal in Madrid, Raducanu, currently 85th in the world, is likely to fall outside the WTA’s top-100 for the first time since her surprise 2021 US Open triumph.
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Madrid Open, with the world number one struggling with an elbow injury just over a month before the start of the French Open.
The 22-time grand slam champion wore strapping on his right elbow at last week's Monte Carlo Masters, suffering a shock 6-4 5-7 4-6 defeat to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.
Djokovic was back in action at the Srpska Open in Banja Luka this week, losing to fellow Serbian Dusan Lajovic in the quarter-finals, but he sparked concerns regarding his injury on the eve of that tournament.
Djokovic described his elbow as "not in an ideal condition" on Tuesday, though he added it was "good enough" for him to continue his preparations for Roland Garros.
On Saturday, however, it was confirmed Djokovic would not compete at the upcoming Masters 1000 event in Madrid, which he has won on three previous occasions.
Djokovic's absence from the clay-court event, which finishes just three weeks before the French Open begins, leaves the 35-year-old facing a battle to be fit for the second grand slam of the year.
Djokovic will not be the only big-name absentee in Madrid, with Rafael Nadal withdrawing earlier this week as he continues to struggle with an injury to his left hip.
With Nadal's chances of participating at the French Open also in the balance, tournament director Amelie Mauresmo said it was "hard to imagine" the event taking place without the 14-time winner.
Both Djokovic and Nadal will be targeting a record-breaking 23rd grand slam singles title if able to compete at the French Open, which will run from May 28 to June 11.
Rafael Nadal remains unsure when he will return to action with the French Open looming after being forced to withdraw from the Madrid Open.
The 22-time grand slam champion has been struggling with a left hip issue that contributed to his second-round exit at the Australian Open in January.
Nadal pulled out of the Indian Wells Open and Miami Open, while the troublesome injury has also hampered the start of his favoured clay-court season.
Having withdrawn from the Monte Carlo Masters and Barcelona Open, the Spaniard is still not fit enough to participate in next week's Madrid Open on home soil.
And a concerned Nadal is now facing a race to be fit in time for the French Open, which begins in a little over five weeks' time.
"As you know, I suffered an important injury in Australia of the psoas [muscle]," he said in a video published on social media on Thursday.
"Initially it had to be a six-to-eight-week recovery period and we are now on fourteen. The reality is that the situation is not what we would have expected.
"All medical indications have been followed, but somehow the evolution has not been what they initially told us and we find ourselves in a difficult situation.
"The weeks are passing and I had the illusion of playing in tournaments that are the most important in my career, like Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros.
"For the moment, I have missed Monte Carlo and Barcelona. I will not be able to be in Madrid, unfortunately."
Nadal, who has played just four matches this season, added: "The injury still hasn't healed and I can't work out what I need to to compete.
"I was training, but now a few days ago we decided to change course a bit, do another treatment and see if things improve to try to get to what comes next.
"I can't give deadlines because if I knew I would tell you but I don't know. This is how things are now."
Nadal won a record-extending 14th French Open title with a straight-sets victory over Casper Ruud in last year's final.
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