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

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.

At the ATP Challenger 175 event in Aix-en-Provence, Andy Murray ended a four-match losing streak with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Gaël Monfils. Murray, now ranked 52 in the world, had yet to secure a victory on clay this season and had indicated he might consider sitting out the French Open.

Defeat to the Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori in Madrid had equalled the worst run of Murray’s professional career and he was hoping for an upturn in fortunes when he entered the Open Aix Provence Crédit Agricole. However, the draw could have been kinder, pairing Murray with the former world No 6 , whom he last met in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2014, coming through in five sets.

The Frenchman was also seeking to find some form, having fallen down the rankings to 322 after a lengthy injury lay-off. The opening set stayed on serve until Murray broke in the fourth game for a