2024 Madrid Open Wednesday SCHEDULE and PREVIEW feature ALCARAZ - RUBLEV, SABALENKA - ANDREEVA, FRITZ AND RYBAKINA

The quarterfinals for both men and women will be played at the Madrid Open on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. The day will feature the 2-times defending champion Carlos Alcaraz facing the 7th seed Andrey Rublev, while the American Taylor Fritz will seek a spot in the semifinals against Francisco Cerundolo. In the women's category, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka will be the favorites for the last two spots in the semifinals.

The Spanish tennis player reached the limit to overcome Jan Lennard Struff, in a rematch of the Madrid Open final from a year ago. Alcaraz had to produce his best tennis to stay in contention with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(4) victory. Rublev advanced with an easy win over Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-4 and continues without dropping sets in Madrid.

The second men's match of the day will be between the 12th seed Taylor Fritz and the world No. 22 Francisco Cerundolo. The American has not dropped a set and has achieved important victories against clay-court specialist Sebastian Baez and the 8th seed Hubert Hurkacz. This time, Fritz faces a tough challenge as Cerundolo has shown his best level and looks more than comfortable on the clay in Madrid. The Argentine has already defeated the 15th seed Tommy Paul and the world No. 5 Alexander Zverev in straight sets.

The women's matches will be intense, with the teenager Mirra Andreeva challenging the world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. A year ago, they faced each other in the round of 16 with Sabalenka emerging victorious, the same week Andreeva made a name for herself by defeating two top-20 players in her first WTA tournament draw. Sabalenka comes into the match after a great comeback against Danielle Collins, ending the American's streak of 15 consecutive victories.

Then there will be a Kazakhstani duel in Madrid, with Yulia Putintseva seeking to cause an upset against Elena Rybakina. The 2022 Wimbledon champion has three titles this season and two runner-up finishes, and has comfortably won all her matches so far. However, Putintseva has already caused a couple of surprises in recent weeks, defeating the world No. 7 Zheng Qinwen and the 10th seed Daria Kasatkina.