In a surprising turn of events at the Madrid Open, Spain’s home favorite and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was ousted by Russia’s seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals. The match concluded with scores of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, marking Rublev’s impressive performance.
On the women’s side, reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus continued her dominant run by securing her 10th consecutive win. She overcame Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva, setting up a highly anticipated ninth matchup with Elena Rybakina. Rybakina herself advanced after a close encounter with fellow Kazakhstani Yulia Putintseva.
Rublev’s advancement to the semifinals in Madrid for the first time not only dashed Alcaraz’s hopes of achieving a hat-trick at the tournament but also ended his own four-match losing streak before Madrid, while Alcaraz had been on a remarkable 14-match winning streak.
Reference(s):
Madrid Open: Defending champion Alcaraz out, Sabalenka marches on
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