Iga Świątek takes inspiration from Rafa Nadal
3 hours and 11 minutes of battle to claim the Madrid crown for the first time. Iga Swiatek decided that if she was going to open her account in the Spanish capital, she may as well do it in style. No sooner had she sat down in her post match press conference than the Pole […]
Rublev v Auger-Aliassime: Final preview
When Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger-Aliassime square off on a tennis court, one can always expect a gruelling tug of war will unfold. Their most recent meeting was a two-hour 33-minute duel in the round of 16 in Rotterdam last February, in which Auger-Aliassime held three consecutive match points late in the deciding set before […]
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 […]
Swiatek seals her passage to the semis
Iga Swiatek is in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals after beating Maia Haddad 4-6, 6-0, 6-2. Before today’s tie, the Pole had only dropped eight games in the tournament, leaving in her wake the likes of Sara Sorribes, Sorana Cirstea and Xiyu Wang. The world No. 1 was starting to look more like a repetitive […]
Sabalenka survives Collins’ streak
Collins-Sabalenka. Probably one of the matches so far at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open. Two high-speed trains collided head on in the final match of the Manolo Santana Stadium night session and the result was spectacular. After almost two and a half hours of tennis, Aryna Sabalenka brought Danielle Collins’ streak to an end with […]
Andreeva, a new star in Madrid
It was with rosy cheeks and a nervous smile that Mirra Andreeva spoke to the press after equalling her best performance in the WTA event (quarter-finals) by defeating Jasmine Paolini 7-6, 6-4. Nine years separate the birthday girl (17) from her Italian opponent (28), but once they started knocking up, all the innocence of the […]
Madison Keys makes a statement in the Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Stadium
Coco Gauff began her campaign in Madrid this year like a force of nature. She arrived at the Mutua Madrid Open as the third seed and one of the best players of the year and only dropped five games in her first two matches of the tournament. The American has been in frightening form. However, […]
Learning from adversity
Carlos Alcaraz is in round four of the Mutua Madrid Open, having today passed what he called a “litmus test”. It was a day for finding out where he is, both in terms of his fitness and his tennis, in an examination that the Murcia native passed with flying colours, seeing off the Brazilian Thiago […]
“I can never thank Madrid enough for the love”
The resurrections of Rafael Nadal just keep on coming… and coming. On Saturday in the Caja Mágica, the Spaniard earned himself yet another opportunity, and what a way to go about it. Who said today would be Rafa Nadal’s last match in Madrid? Who dared doubt the man? After his umpteenth astonishing feat in the […]
Monteiro serves up a surprise to send Tsitsipas packing
Thiago Monteiro spent a good portion of his childhood being driven around by his older brother Faber for hours and hours, from one tournament to another across Brazil, trying to make it as a young tennis player. He was adopted as a newborn baby and his mother Fatima raised him and his siblings as a […]