A rejuvenated Andrey Rublev took out defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in Madrid to continue his upswing in form after a torrid last few weeks.
The Russian world No 8 dropped the first set, but recovered — with a display of not just the baseline aggression and power for which he is known, but also a steeliness and resistance to adversity that has been lacking in his game in recent times.
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“The key was I was completely calm the whole match. I did not say one word, even if I was losing,” he said after his 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win. Rublev’s form has snowballed downhill since he was defaulted in Dubai in February, but he has seemingly emerged from his slump in the Spanish capital.
For Alcaraz, it is the end of a 14-match win streak in Madrid, where he is the two-time defending champion. After defeating in-form German Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets yesterday, he admitted that, before the tournament, he would have signed up just to play three or four matches after struggling with a forearm injury that saw him pull out of the Monte Carlo Masters and Banc Sabadell Open in Barcelona.
He will now turn his attention to the Italian Open in Rome, while Rublev will await the winner of a quarter-final between Taylor Fritz of the U.S. and Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina.
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(Photo: Matteo Villalba/Getty Images)
