Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev could be the next rivals of Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, respectively, if the Balearic and/or the Murcian reach the quarterfinals this Tuesday. The Russians achieved it at the beginning of the Caja Mágica day.
Medvedev won, in a match that at times seemed like an exhibition due to the camaraderie and jokes between the two, against Kazakh Alexander Bublik 7-6 (3) and 6-4 in 1h44, and reached the penultimate round of the tournament for the first time. Spanish Masters 1,000 (on this occasion, he has reached that round already at nine and has accumulated 20 appearances in total), while Rublev beat the Dutch Tallon Griekspoor by 6-2 and 6-4 in 1h04, and repeats his best result, which he obtained already in 2022. “I feel great. I was able to play very well today and everything worked perfectly. Serving, subtracting, I was directing (the game), I was able to play aggressively and almost always scored all the balls. So, yes, it was a great match for me,” said the 26-year-old Muscovite and world number 8.
Daniil has a very unfavorable head-to-head against Nadal: 5-1, with that only victory in the semifinals of the 2020 ATP Finals. Diametrically opposite to the record he maintains with Bublik (6-0). Andrey has only faced Alcaraz once and lost, in the group stage of the ATP Finals 2023. If he advances, the Manacorí would play on Thursday, probably not before 4:00 p.m., and the one from El Palmar, on Wednesday at At the same hour.
Cerúndolo eliminates two-time champion Zverev
Francisco Cerúndolo gave the surprise by eliminating (6-3 and 6-4 in 1h29) the 4th favorite and champion of the tournament in 2018 and 2021, Alexander Zverev. He is the first Argentine to beat the German since Diego Schwartzman at the 2019 US Open and the first from his country to reach the quarterfinals in Madrid since Juan Martín del Potro (who has been in the capital these days) in 2012.
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Cerúndolo, who has a 3-2 record against Top-5 tennis players, faces Taylor Fritz on Wednesday, in his fourth Masters 1,000 quarterfinal. The American (13th) was able to defeat the Polish Hubert Hurkacz (9th), whom he beat in two sets (7-6 (2) and 6-4) and 2h25. It is the 10th time that Fritz has made it this far in an event of this kind.
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2024-04-30 11:45:40
#Medvedev #Rublev #rivals #Nadal #Alcaraz #quarterfinals
