Masters 1000 in Madrid

Rublev knocks Alcaraz out in the Madrid quarter-finals

Andrei Rublev is through to the Madrid semifinals.(Bild: AFP/APA/Thomas COEX)

Carlos Alcaraz's reign at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid is over for the time being. After 14 victories en suite at this important preparatory tournament for the French Open, the Spanish number two seed lost 6:4, 3:6, 2:6 to Russia's Andrej Rublev after 1:59 hours on Wednesday. Jannik Sinner withdrew from the tournament after suffering a hip injury.

The Masters 1000 tournament experienced a black day from the organizers' point of view on Wednesday: The dream final of the world numbers two and three was shattered twice. First, Carlos Alcaraz lost to Russia's Andrej Rublev in three sets in the quarter-finals, then top seed Jannik Sinner shocked his fans by withdrawing. The Italian withdrew from the tournament due to a hip injury.

"I'm very sad that I have to cancel my next match here in Madrid," the South Tyrolean announced on the "X" platform. "My hip has been bothering me all week and it was slowly getting more and more painful." On the advice of the doctors, it was decided not to continue playing so as not to aggravate it further.

Rublev now the favorite? 
Alcaraz, on the other hand, would have been the first player since Dominic Thiem to reach the Madrid semi-finals three times in a row. Thiem even managed to do so four times in a row from 2017 to 2019 and again in 2021 (2020 not played due to coronavirus).

The 26-year-old Rublev equalized the head-to-head with Alcaraz at 1:1 with his most valuable win of the season so far. His next opponent in the semi-finals will now be Taylor Fritz (USA-12) or Francisco Cerundolo (ARG-21/to follow).

Trembling victory for Rybakina
In the women's WTA 1000 tournament at the same venue, No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina had a tough time in her all-Kazakh duel with Yulia Putintseva. Only after 2:48 hours did she prevail 4:6, 7:6(4), 7:5 and is the third player after Iga Swiatek (POL-1) and Madison Keys (USA-18) to reach the quarter-finals. Rybakina will now face the defending champion Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, seeded number two. She defeated the young star Mirra Andreyeva (RUS), who recently turned 17, 6:1, 6:4.