Tournament favorite and number one seed Carlos Alcaraz defeated Karen Kachanov 6-4 7-5 be the first competitor to qualify for the semi-finals.
The match was very close and it was decided by small details. Kachanov faced the game in a very intelligent way and put Alcaraz’s mental toughness to the test. Neither of the two players gave away the ball for a flop, the variation in speed and shot height was constant, and when the situation was extreme, lob resources were the norm, causing both players to miss more than once when trying to finish a subject.
In the first set, Carlitos broke Kachanov’s serve 3which allowed him to win the set 6-4. The situation was different in the second set. Kachanov was able to break Alcaraz’s serve and confirm the break 4-1 in his favour. Each of them won their serves and that was it 5-2 for Kachanov, it was thought at the time that the match could be extended to three sets, but there were still many matches left to be played.
Carlos held the serve to make a set 3-5 and forced Kachanov to serve to win the set. With the pressure so close, Alcaraz came back with 15-thirty break and stay alive in the second set. Started by people and optimism, it gained momentum and more than just tied up 5 game, but broke the Russian’s serve again and was able to close the match with his serve.
It was a very close match and if we look at the statistics, from the total number of points Alcaraz won only 7 points more than his rival. The key points, as always, are the ones that decide these matches.
In the remaining matches, Borna Coric easily defeated Daniel Altmaier 6-3 6-3 and Aslan Karatsev put an end to the dream of Chinese player Zhizhen Zhang 7-6 6-4 in a great match.
Zhang had a moment of oversight in the first set overtime where he was leading 3-0 and couldn’t keep the lead. This led him to lose the first set and even went so far as to break the first serve of the second set. Zhang, no matter how hard he tried, couldn’t recover. Karatsev showed the solidity of his game that took him from qualifying to the semi-finals.
Another surprise happened at the end of the quarter-finals. Jan-Lennard Struff (LL) eliminated fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 5-7 6-3. The German player relied on his powerful serve and spectacular shots to take Tsitsipas to the extreme.
Struff broke the Greek’s serve and advanced 3-1 in the last set and held the serve solidly. Stefanos thus said goodbye to the tournament, in which everything pointed to a repeat of the Barcelona Open final against Alcaraz.
In the semi-finals, Carlos Alcaraz will face Borna Coric and Aslan Karatsev will face Jan-Lennard Struff.
The interesting facts continue, for the first time at the Madrid Open (21 years old) a competitor who comes from the elimination (Aslan Karatsev or Jan-Lennard Struff) will advance to the final.
It is also worth noting that Aslan Karatsev and Jan-Lennard Struff will face each other again in the tournament, because it was the Russian who eliminated the German in the qualifying tournament.
