Carlos Alcaraz's winning march continues and in the round of 16 of the madrid Open he imposes his law on Alexander Zverev with an absolutely dominated match.
The Spaniard, looking for confirmation, imposed himself with a clear 6-1 6-2 in just over an hour which earned him access to the quarterfinals: he will find Khachanov, winner against Rublev in 2 sets (7 -6 6-4) of one of the two Russian derbies of the day.
From his front, Alcaraz proves to be the super favorite in a draw that has left the Spaniard with very few rivals between defections on the side and results on the field.
Also because the Iberian tennis player travels very fast in the season: 26-2 his balance so far in 2023. Say goodbye to Madrid in the round of 16 Daniil Medvedev.
The world No. 3 surrendered in straight sets at the other Russian match of the day.
The revived Aslan Karatsev has in fact remembered that he is a good tennis player this week and so far he is proceeding with precious victories: 7-6 6-4 the score and first career slam quarter-final at 1000 level for Karatsev, currently No. 121 in the ATP ranking but already certain of returning to the Top 100 thanks to this week's results.
"I have nothing against the Spanish crowd and I can't wait to get back to playing in Madrid."
Thus concludes the message published on social media by Holger Rune, who tried to clarify the controversy during yesterday's match lost against Davidovich Fokina, with the reaction of the stands who booed him for a long time.
The problem arose during the first set when Fokina contested a call.
A rune service was judged off, but the
electronic eye proved that the ball was good.
In the meantime, however, the Dane had canceled the sign, a gesture that the public took for a provocation, starting to boo Rune even while he was serving.
The chair umpire, Carlos Bernardes, resumed Rune: "I'll tell you one thing, and it applies to the whole match - he scolded him - I already told you in Monte-Carlo. There are crowds that you can't control if you keep on If you go on like this, they'll get worse and worse. If you just play tennis, that's all they'll do."
In the women's tournament, world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka qualified first for the semifinals after defeating Egypt's Mayar Sherif (No. 59) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Sabalenka, winner of her first Grand Slam at the Open d'
Australia in January and finalist on clay in Stuttgart (Germany) ten days ago, she will face Greece's Maria Sakkari or Romania's Irina-Camélia Begu on Thursday for a place in the final.
The Belarusian has reached at least the quarterfinals in the seven tournaments (including Madrid) she has played in 2023.