Carlos Alcaraz holds off Khachanov to book place in Madrid Open semi-finals

03.05.2023 - 17:31 theguardian.com

The world No 2, Carlos Alcaraz, produced a second-set fightback to defeat Karen Khachanov and secure his place in the semi-finals of the Madrid Open.

Alcaraz, the defending champion, is bidding for successive ATP Tour titles after winning in Barcelona last week. The 19-year-old Spaniard took the opening set with a single break in the seventh game.

Alcaraz, the top seed, rallied from 5-2 down in the second set to reel off the next five games and complete a 6-4, 7-5 win. In the quarter-finals of the WTA event, Veronika Kudermetova battled past the third seed, Jessica Pegula, winning 6-4, 0-6, 6-4.

It was her seventh victory over a top-five player, as the 12th-seeded Russian defeated the world No 3, who reached the final last year, in just over two hours. “I feel so happy and proud of myself, because every match [so far] I played three sets,” said Kudermetova.

Sporting Barcelona semi-finals Andy Murray Karen Khachanov Carlos Alcaraz Jessica Pegula Veronika Kudermetova Russia France Italy Madrid

ROME : Seventh seed Elena Rybakina beat Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko 6-2 6-4 in a rain-delayed semi-final at the Italian Open on Friday and will play Anhelina Kalinina in Saturday's final.

Novak Djokovic Sees Off Norrie To Reach Italian Open Quarter-Finals

Novak Djokovic eased into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday after breezing past Cameron Norrie although there was tension with the Briton after the top seed was hit by a smash. While Djokovic dispatched Norrie 6-3, 6-4, Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev and home hope Jannik Sinner both crashed out in Rome. Djokovic has reached the last eight in each of his previous 16 appearances in the Italian capital and he did it again, getting past Norrie on centre court to set up a clash with Holger Rune in a tournament which is a key warmup for the French Open.

Djokovic sees off Norrie to reach Italian Open quarter-finals

ROME: Novak Djokovic eased into the Italian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday after breezing past Cameron Norrie although there was tension with the Briton after the top seed was hit by a smash. While Djokovic dispatched Norrie 6-3, 6-4, Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev and home hope Jannik Sinner both crashed out in Rome, a key warmup for the French Open. Djokovic has reached the last eight in each of his previous 16 appearances in the Italian capital and he did it again, getting past Norrie on center court to set up a clash with Holger Rune.

Carlos Alcaraz says he needs to 'reset his mind' ahead of French Open after shock defeat to Fabian Marozsan in Rome

Carlos Alcaraz says that he needs to «reset» ahead of the French Open after suffering a shock defeat to Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan at the Italian Open. World No. 135 Marozsan, who is playing in the first ATP main draw event of his career, produced one of the biggest upsets in recent tennis history by beating the No.

Carlos Alcaraz celebrates ranking achievement ahead of French Open seedings: 'It's great to be world No. 1'

Carlos Alcaraz celebrated that “it’s great to be world No. 1” after beating Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4 6-1 in his Italian Open debut on Saturday. Alcaraz was impressive yet again as he beat his compatriot in the first round, and the points earned with the victory mean that he will be the new world No.