This Tuesday, Carlos Alcaraz is looking for a place in the quarterfinals of the Mutua Madrid Open. The current runner-up of the tournament, Jan-Lennard Struff, will be measured at 4 pm
The German is once again having a great tournament in the capital and will be a very good rock for the Murcianwho seems to be back to his best after missing the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 and the Godó due to injury.
What the Wimbledon champion already knows is who will be his rival in the quarterfinals if he wins. This is Andrey Rublevwho won easily the first match of the day against Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (6-4 and 6-4), to sign his best performance so far at the Caja Mágica.
The Russian, seventh favorite, took 64 minutes to win for the third time, albeit the first on the ground, in as many games against the Dutch, He was among the eight best in the event as he was in 2022 when he was beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Daniil Medvedev also sealed his pass to the quarterfinals in the morning session. The Russian defeated Kazakh Alexander Bublik 7-6(3), 6-4 in a strange match where he ended up imposing his superiority.
The winner of the match between Rafa Nadal and Jiri Lehecka will be his rivalon Thursday, in the quarterfinals.
The round of 16 in 2023 and 2021 was Medvedev’s best round at the Caja Mágica so far.
The Russian, ranked fourth in the world, had beaten Bublik in their previous four matches. With this new achievement, he has also reached at least the quarterfinal round in nine 1,000 category tournaments.
After exchanging breaks in the first set, a Bublik error allowed Medvedev to take a 6-0 lead in the tiebreaker. The Kazakh disoriented his rival with an underhand serve and saved three match points, but a shot from the Moscow giant (1.98 m) decided the set.
Bublik, also from Russia, broke his racket when he lost serve in the first game of the second set and received a warning from the referee. He fell down. He found himself 4-0 down and succumbed to the roulette of drop shots, succeeding only occasionally.
When serving to win (5-2), Medvedev committed a double fault and two unforced errors that gave the Kazakh wings, closing the gap. It reached 5-4, but on his next serve the favorite closed the match. Both gave each other many gifts, but Medevev came out on top.
Not a fan of dirt as a playing surface, the Russian has won 18 of his 20 titles on fast courts.
Bublik has not reached the quarterfinals of a Masters 1,000 since the 2021 edition in Madrid.
Source: La Verdad
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