ATP Masters Madrid: Will the favorites do it in the end?
With Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas , only two players are represented in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, which were also to be expected there according to the seeding list.
by Jens Huiber
last edit:
May 03, 2023, 11:02 am
It is quite possible, yes, even very likely, that Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas will play for the title at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid on Sunday. This would then result in a repeat of the Barcelona final, which the Spaniard won in convincing fashion. But if you look at the final lists of Madrid in ten years and see Alcaraz against Tsitsipas as the final pairing, you will not think of the underdog stories that this event 2023 wrote. Or also: How many of the supposed co-favorites stumbled early on.
The initial situation with the cancellations of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner was such that three players with at least a quarter-final guarantee did not come to the Caja Magica at all. It was not foreseeable that in the round of the last eight athletes like Aslan Karatsev, Zhizhen Zhang and the two lucky losers Daniel Altmaier and Jan-Lennard Struff would be found. Even if Struff had already advanced into this late tournament phase in Monte-Carlo.
Zhang beats Shapovalov, Norrie, Fritz
The run by Zhang, who was able to defeat Denis Shapovalov, Cameron Norrie and Taylor Fritz one after the other in the tie-break of the third set, is particularly remarkable. Fritz in particular will wonder how he was able to lose the game against the Chinese.
It was almost forgotten that Aslan Karatsev is capable of great tennis. After his amazing run at the beginning of the 2021 season with the semi-finals at the Australian Open and the tournament victory in Dubai, a permanent right to stay in the top 30 would have been expected. Although Karatsev won the tournament in Moscow in 2021 and a few weeks later that in Sydney, he came to Madrid as number 121 in the world. And consequently had to qualify, where he was able to prevail against Jan-Lennard Struff.
Struff against Karatsev at eye level
Struff had a hard fight with Argentinian Pedro Cachin on Tuesday, could have won in two sets, but could also lose. And then prevailed with a formidable final sprint. Two lucky losers in the quarterfinals of a 1000, that's new. Because Daniel Altmaier also took advantage of the moment. And for both, Struff and Altmaier, it doesn't have to be over yet. Because with his power tennis, Struff can also get Stefanos Tsitsipas into trouble. And Altmaier's opponent Borna Coric has to cope with yesterday's marathon against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Here is the individual tableau in Madrid
madrid map