From qualies to one step from the final
Who would have thought, when they squared off in the last round of qualifying ten days ago, that they would meet again to play for a place in the grand finale of the Mutua Madrid Open? Jan-Lennard Struff and Aslan Karatsev’s script at this year’s tournament is of Hollywood proportions. Thursday was a day of […]
Bopanna bids for a brace
A doubles double. Both semi-finals in the Mutua Madrid Open doubles took place today, meaning Saturday’s final is now set: Matthew Ebden and Rohan Bopanna will cross swords with Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev for the trophy. Of the eight players in the penultimate round of the tournament, only two have tasted glory in Madrid: […]
And he’s “only” 19 years and 364 days old…
“My dream in tennis is to become one of the best in history. I know it’s a big dream, maybe too big, but in this world you have to dream big and think in the same way. I want to be one of the best in history and I’ll work for that”. These are the […]
Karatsev powers into maiden Masters 1000 semi
We’ve seen this happen before! In 2021, Aslan Karatsev, ranked outside the top 100, qualified for the Australian Open and made it all the way to the semi-finals – on his Grand Slam main draw debut no less. This fortnight at the Mutua Madrid Open, Karatsev is back doing what he does best – unleashing […]
Coric challenges the hot favourite
It wasn’t a victory that came down to a net cord on the final point, as was the case against Spanish player Alejandro Davidovich, but Wednesday’s win was a special one for Borna Coric, all the same. The Croat has sealed his passage to the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals, which will see him cross paths […]
An open secret
Carlitos Alcaraz has defeated Karen Khachanov in a well-contested Mutua Madrid Open quarter-final, 6-4, 7-5. A few minutes after his victory, he spoke to the press, happy in the knowledge that he had claimed his tenth win in the Caja Mágica and has reached his sixth semi-final of the year in as many tournaments: “that’s […]
Alcaraz, back in the semis
Carlos Alcaraz remains on course to defend his throne at the Mutua Madrid Open. The man from Murcia progressed to the semi-finals in the Caja Mágica on Wednesday after beating Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5, leaving him just two steps away from a successful title defence in the Spanish capital. The number one seed managed to […]
The emperor of torment
A master escape artist, a guru of handling the pressure of three-set battles… Zhang Zhizhen is more than just a record-breaking machine, he’s also an expert in mitigating the effects of nerves. Four matches. Eleven sets. Seven tiebreaks. Three matches decided in a tiebreak. This is how Zhang rolls. He toys with you, he exhausts […]
From ‘chaos’ to ‘zen mode’, Tsitsipas downs Zapata Miralles to reach last eight
Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced to the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals for the third time in five appearances thanks to a late-night 6-3, 6-1 victory over home favourite Bernabe Zapata Miralles on Tuesday. The No.4 seed, a finalist in Madrid in 2019 and a semi-finalist last year, fired 15 winners against 13 unforced errors throughout the 73-minute […]
Alcaraz eclipses Zverev in the Caja Mágica
Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev played a rematch of last year’s final at the Mutua Madrid Open, and it was a similar encounter. The Spaniard has fired a clear warning shot on the Madrid clay, outclassing the German to a 6-1, 6-2 win in just 80 minutes to book himself a place in the quarter-finals. […]
