Madrid Open 2024 Day 7 Recap

The 2024 Madrid Open quarterfinal lineup is set, with Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, Francisco Cerundolo, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Jiri Lehecka progressing into the last eight.

First to progress was Andrey Rublev, who looks reinvigorated after his poor run of form, and he was soon joined by compatriot Daniil Medvedev.

Top seed Jannik Sinner played his match at Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, while Alcaraz squared off with Struff on Manolo Santana. Both men prevailed in tricky three-setters.

The round had two upsets, the biggest being Francisco Cerundolo taking out two-time Madrid champion Sascha Zverev. Felix Auger-Aliassime then beat fifth seed Casper Ruud to record one of his best wins of the season.

In the day’s final match, Jiri Lehecka ended Rafael Nadal’s Madrid campaign with a composed display full of impressive serving and some exemplary net play.

Nadal, playing for the final time in Madrid, received a fitting tribute after the match in front of a packed house.

You can see all the results from day seven in Madrid below.

Day Seven 2024 Madrid Open Round of 16 Results

Medvedev Beats Bublik

Daniil Medvedev has now made at least the quarterfinals of all nine ATP Masters 1000 events, completing the record with a 7-6(3), 6-4 victory over Alexander Bublik.

Despite the fairly straightforward scoreline, Medvedev had to rally from a break down in the first set. Bublik used his variable play to keep the third seed on the move, particularly employing the drop shot to good effect.

After a competitive opening set, the match swayed in Medvedev’s favour during the first set tiebreak, where he established an unassailable 6-0 lead. That momentum got him an early break in the second, which he maintained to cross the line after one hour and 44 minutes of play at Manolo Santana Stadium.

It was a tough match. I got so tired in the end, running for a lot of drop shots. That’s when you lose your concentration and start playing a bit worse. That’s what happened, but after the match, he told me he was dead also. So good for me, at least I was not the only one. Generally I felt like it was a good level. Some good points, some good serving and some bad serving. So it was a bit up and down, but I’m happy I could stay more consistent and win it in the end. Medvedev on his tricky match vs Bublik.

Fritz Halts Hurkacz

Taylor Fritz is looking more at home on clay this year, making the final in Munich last week and now defeating Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (2), 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters 1000 for the first time.

Although Fritz had previously beaten Hurkacz in three out of their four encounters, I made Hubi the favourite given his serve and the fact he won the title in Estoril.

The match began with a closely contested first set that went to a tiebreak and Fritz leveraged his best assets to take control.

Like Medvedev earlier in the day, he carried this momentum into the second set, breaking Hurkacz’s serve early and maintaining that lead to secure the match in 1 hour and 25 minutes. He faced zero break points and won 88% and 76% behind his first and second serve, respectively.

I started the match holding a backhand grip and then just looking at ship forehands, I feel like it was pretty good for putting returns in the court, but just my court position to play the point afterwards on clay being so far up isn’t the best at 6-5 I went back because I wanted to experiment one before the tiebreaker to get an idea of what I wanted to do for the tiebreaker and immediately being back just felt a little bit better because when I could get the return in play, I felt really good in the point if I could start it you know back behind the baseline have a lot more time so yeah I mean that’s just kind of what you play for with you be it’s gonna be tough to break him no matter what so focus on serve take it to a breaker and then try to win some of those big points. Fritz on his tactics vs Hubi.

Sinner Slips Past Khachanov

After coming through a tricky match against Pavel Kotov last night, Jannik Sinner was pushed even harder on Tuesday, coming through in three sets to defeat Karen Khachanov 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.

Despite losing the first set, the top-seeded Italian rebounded in a high-powered match at Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, saving crucial break points in the final set during a victory that took just over two hours.

Khachanov served very well in parts and made life difficult for the Italian, who is still dealing with hip discomfort.

However, he dug in and was probably encouraged by the prospect of a recovery day before his next match, which can make a world of difference to his recovery. Despite Khachanov serving well, Sinner converted all three break points he created, and his victory improved his season record to 28-2 and extended his head-to-head lead over Khachanov to 4-1. 

I struggled when breaking points down in the early stages of the third set. I went through them, serving really well. Then I felt a little bit better, so I’m really happy, and let’s see what’s coming in the next round. If I look back I’ve played many matches and not had much time off, so this can happen. In my mind, I know this. If it would have been worse than yesterday, then I would have thought about [whether to play] today, but if I have a chance to get through situations early in my career, I want to give it a try. For sure, I’m not physically at 100 per cent today. Tomorrow, I have a day off, which can help me to get through. I knew that if I won today, I would have tomorrow to recover, hopefully for the next match, which I have to do because it is tough. I’m happy to be in the quarters here. Sinner on his win and physical condition.

Alcaraz Mitigates Struff Test

Carlos Alcaraz endured his most challenging test at the 2024 Madrid Open, with a gruelling 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(4) against Jan-Lennard Struff.

In a nail-biting rematch of last year’s final, Alcaraz showcased some of his best tennis to win the first set, but Struff, the big-serving German, fought back from a break down to take the second set in a tiebreak a tense decider, Alcaraz let slip four match points when serving for it at 5-3 40-0 before clinching victory on his fifth match point after winning four straight points from 3-4 in the tiebreak.

Overall, I thought Struff played some decent stuff, but on some of the bigger points, he made some poor shot choices, and Carlos proved too versatile with a few more ways to win points, even though he wasn’t consistent throughout.

Alcaraz has now won 15 out of the 16 matches he has played in Madrid and moves on to face seventh-seed Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals.

Honestly, this match reminds me of last year’s match. It was pretty difficult from the first point until the last one. It was a great fight, and it was difficult. It was difficult for me to deal with my emotions, to handle certain moments, difficult moments in the match. Serving for the match, it was really difficult for me after that 40/0 up, but really happy that at the end it didn’t affect me with my game, with my mentality. I kept fighting. That’s all that matters and I’m really happy to get the win at the end. I have to say thanks to the people here for supporting me until the last point. It was great support after those difficult moments at the end of the third set. They pushed me just to not give up and keep fighting. I’m going to say that this win is thanks to them as well, and it’s incredible to have this crowd behind me. Alcaraz on his tough win vs Struff.

Other Round of 16 Matches

Rublev Continues Resurgence: Andrey Rublev’s turnaround after a string of losses shows no signs of stopping as he beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-4 to make his second Madrid quarterfinal, this time without dropping a set.

Cerdundolo Cracks Zverev: Francisco Cerundolo defeated Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4, reaching his fourth ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal and becoming the first Argentine to do so in Madrid since Del Potro in 2012. Cerundolo saved both break points and excelled on his first serve to spring the upset, setting up a clash with Taylor Fritz.

Auger-Aliassime Rips Past Ruud: A first Masters 1000 quarterfinal in over a year for Felix (Indian Wells 2023), and he produced one of his best performances in decent memory with some heavy forehands to take out 5th seed Casper Ruud 6-4 7-5.

Lehecka Ends Nadal Campaign: Jiri Lehecka produced a top-class performance, particularly in the forecourt, where he showed his deft hand skills to take out Rafael Nadal 7-5, 6-4. Who was, as of right now, playing for the final time in Madrid.

Madrid Open 2024 Quarter Final Matches