Alcaraz, OUT from Madrid! Rublev “killed his demons” and ticked off a performance not reached for 2 years

Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev opened the quarter-final series at the ATP 1000 points tournament in Madrid.

The match that brought the world number 3 and world number 8 face-to-face was extremely even and needed a decisive set to decide the winner and the first semi-finalist in the Spanish capital.

In front of his own fans, it was Alcaraz who started the game better, signing the first break of the match at 3-2, which he later consolidated for 4-2.

At 5-3 to the Iberian, Rublev saved two set points and maintained the suspense, but in the end Alcaraz brushed away any emotion and won the first leg, 6-4.

The second set started with the Russian in the lead, who quickly broke away to 3-0, taking the first option to win the set.

That’s what happened, because Alcaraz didn’t have the strength to come back and the set ended in favor of Rublev, 6-3, after the Iberian had saved a 1-1 ball.

In the decider, Carlos started just as badly and lost his opening serve, only to have a chance to break back, which he wasted. Rublev was more focused and precise and broke away to 2-0, starting as the favorite to win the set and the match.

Alcaraz came to 2-1, but Rublev managed another break midway through the decisive set and broke away at 4-1, making Alcaraz’s mission extremely complicated.

The Iberian showed no signs of coming back, being increasingly stressed, while Rublev took advantage of the very good period in the game to break away at 5-1 and be just one game away from victory.

Carlitos won the next game, for 5-2, but in the end Rublev finished the game in his favor, 6-2, going into the penultimate act of the competition in Madrid.

Following this success, Rublev ended Alcaraz’s 14-game winning streak in Madrid and 24-game winning streak in Spain.

For the Russian, this is the eighth semi-final at the Masters level in his career, but the first in Madrid, also reaching his 25th victory against TOP 10 ATP opponents.