Same poster, and almost the same result: Carlos Alcaraz, world number 2 and trophy holder, again swept Alexander Zverev (6-1, 6-2) in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000 in Madrid on Tuesday, as in the final of the 2022 edition. A year ago, Zverev had saved four games (6-3, 6-1) but had only lasted about sixty minutes, against twenty more this time. For a place in the last four, the young Spanish phenomenon will face Russian Karen Khachanov (12th), scorer 7-6 (10/8), 6-4 of world number 6 Andrey Rublev 7-6, (10/8) 6 -4 at the start of the day. “It will be difficult to raise my level of play” in the next match, admits “Carlitos”.
“I played a great match, very complete, I hardly gave him time to do anything,” he appreciates. Less than a month from Roland-Garros (May 28-June 11), Alcaraz, twenty years old on Friday, the day of the Madrid semi-finals, is establishing itself day after day as a growing favorite for the Parisian Grand Slam. Injured for the Australian Open and latecomer to the competition in 2023, it was on clay, during the South American tour in February, that he chose to make his comeback. Result: a title in Buenos Aires and a final in Rio (lost against Norrie).
The best on ocher in 2023
Back on the European ocher in mid-April, he pocketed a new title, in Barcelona, before heading to Madrid. So much so that he is, by far, the player who has amassed the most victories on clay since the start of the season. Halfway through the Spanish capital, he posted sixteen victories for a single defeat on the spring’s flagship surface. Rublev, his closest pursuer in the exercise, caps at ten for now.
His rating is all the more flourishing as those of Rafael Nadal, the undisputed king of ocher, fourteen times crowned at Roland-Garros, is injured and absent since the Australian Open, and that Novak Djokovic has not showed his best face on clay before zapping Madrid, and even felt his right elbow which had caused him pain several years ago creak again. In the Madrid heat on Tuesday afternoon, the expected clash between Alcaraz and Zverev made pschitt!
After a first white game, the bouncing kid from El Palmar scrapped for long minutes, around ten, to break the big German from the start. Everything went quickly then, as the first proved to be lively, solid and inspired, maneuvering with his forehand and author, as he is used to, of a few skillfully distilled drop shots and hits. Both Zverev, too, was far from his best level, not successful on serve (4 double faults) and guilty of numerous shots flown out of bounds.
Sabalenka first semi-finalist
The former world number 2, now 16th after his serious right ankle injury almost a year ago, did not get a single break point against Alcaraz. In total, the latter lost only eight points on his serve, only two in the first set. “I don’t feel very superior to anyone, far from it, but it’s true that when I’m physically well and confident, I know how difficult it is for my opponents to beat me. They have to play at a very high level to achieve this”, summarizes well the winner of the US Open 2022 who became the youngest world number 1 in history.
Like Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, world number 3 but not very fond of clay, was stopped in the round of 16 by another Russian, him Aslan Karastev, surprise semi-finalist of the Australian Open 2021 fell outside the top 100 ( 7-6 (7/1), 6-4). In the women’s draw, the first qualified for the last four is Aryna Sabalenka: the world number 2 overthrew the unexpected and confusing Egyptian Mayar Sherif (59th) 2-6, 6-2, 6-1. Her next opponent will be either the Greek Maria Sakkari (9th) or the Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu (35th), opposed in the evening.