Lehecka reaches his first semi-finals in Madrid
Jiri Lehecka claimed the last semi-final spot in the Mutua Madrid Open main draw after Daniil Medvedev withdrew injured at one set down (6-4). Félix Auger-Aliassime, Taylor Fritz and Andrey Rublev had already booked their places in the round of four and the world No. 31’s surprise run through the rounds has now produced his […]
Granollers and Zeballos, on top of the world
Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are the No. 1 pair in the world in the live ranking after beating the twosome formed by Hugo Nys and Jan Zelinski 16-14 in a roller-coaster super tiebreak. The Spanish-Argentine duo have earned themselves a place in history by reaching the pinnacle of the rankings for the first time […]
‘Calm’ approach key to Vicente guiding Rublev to best form
After his first match at the Caja Magica this fortnight, Andrey Rublev joked that his goal for the season was to “win more than one match”. The No.7 seed arrived in Madrid carrying a four-match losing streak, winless over a stretch of six weeks. “In tennis the good thing is that one week can change […]
Fritz bids to emulate Agassi in Madrid
Very few Americans have ever set foot in the men’s semi-finals at the Mutua Madrid Open. So few, in fact, that since the tournament moved from hard court to the clay of the Caja Magica in 2009, Taylor Fritz is the first one to achieve the feat. The player from San Diego beat Argentina’s Francisco […]
Alcaraz continues to progress, despite bowing out to Rublev
Carlos Alcaraz will not dispute another Mutua Madrid Open semi-final this year after losing 6-4, 3-6, 2-6 to Andrey Rublev in the quarters. Although he was the epitome of concentration in set one, aware of the magnitude of the challenge of toppling a Top 10 player, in the second and third sets he was perhaps […]
Rublev ends Alcaraz’s dream in the Caja Mágica
Andrey Rublev managed to do something today that was long forgotten by the Manolo Santana Stadium. Since the day of his 18th birthday, before he was the great player we all know today, Carlos Alcaraz had not tasted defeat on the Caja Magica clay. With a sensational performance, muscling the ball around the centre court, the […]
Rybakina back from the brink to reach semis
If you look up the word ‘clutch’ in the dictionary, you’ll probably find Elena Rybakina’s name right next to it. Since losing to Anna Blinkova at the Australian Open in January, Rybakina has not lost a deciding set on tour, winning all 12 she has contested, including a wild one against Yulia Putintseva on Wednesday […]
Thank you, Rafa
Rafael Nadal has played his last match in the Manolo Santana Stadium. The news may take some time to sink in around the tennis world. One of the greatest athletes of all time has brought an end to his home career, with the entire Caja Magica on its feet as he bade them farewell. If […]
Alcaraz moves the goalposts
Carlitos made no bones about his goals here at the start of the week. The mission in Madrid was part of a grander plan, to play three or four matches to help him recover his fitness and pick up some competitive court time. The fear of a relapse was looming large at the back of […]
Alcaraz steals another epic in Madrid
“I missed this so much”. What Carlos Alcaraz scrawled on the camera straight after the match perfectly summed up his Tuesday afternoon in the Manolo Santana Stadium. To earn a place among the last eight at the Mutua Madrid Open, the Spaniard had to unpick the game of Jan-Lennard Struff in a rematch of last […]