Carlos Alcaraz ends Madrid Open title defence after being outplayed by awesome Andrey Rublev

After winning the last two editions of the tournament, Carlos Alcaraz will not be able to defend the Madrid Open 2024 title after being eliminated in the quarterfinals by Andrey Rublev. The player from Murcia, despite taking the first set, ended up suffering a rampant defeat at the hands of the Russian player, who played at an impeccable level: 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

In the semifinals of the Masters 1000, Rublev will face the winner of the match between Taylor Fritz and Francisco Cerúndolo, which will be played on Wednesday night at the Caja Mágica.

In the first set, Alcaraz started by saving a break point from Rublev with 0-1 against. The player from Murcia would find his first great opportunity at 2-2, when in his first break opportunity he got a break that he would then confirm to take a 2-4 lead. Carlitos was playing a very intelligent tennis, and at 3-5 he got his first two set points, although Rublev saved both of them. However, with his serve he was not going to fail, and took the first set 4-6.

Alcaraz had offered a very mature image in the first set of the match, thinking very well when to attack and when to be more patient. This was to be reflected in his minimal amount of unforced errors, with a total of 2 in the first set to Andrey Rublev's 7.

In the second set, however, the situation was to change completely. Rublev was to react and, after a blank game on his opening serve, the Russian was to break Alcaraz's serve for the first time, albeit after five break balls, to immediately confirm the advantage and take a 3-0 lead.

It was noticeable that Carlitos was not at all comfortable in the second set. With 4-1 in favor of Rublev, the player from Murcia allowed his opponent to get 0-40 with three break points. Even so, he was going to turn it around and managed to win his serve to cut it to 4-2 looking to overcome the disadvantage in the remaining games. Although Alcaraz would have 15-40 in the next game with two break opportunities, Rublev saved both to take a 5-2 lead, and then won the second set 6-3 to tie the match.

Everything was going to be decided in the third set, which was not going to have the best start for Carlos Alcaraz. The player from Murcia suffered a break on his first serve, and although he had two break opportunities to get 1-1, Andrey Rublev managed to confirm the break to take a 2-0 lead and put Carlitos on the ropes. After the 2-1, Rublev consolidated one more game with his powerful serve, 3-1.

Alcaraz began to run out of opportunities. In fact, Rublev was 15-40 in the next game with two break points. Although he saved the first of them, the Spaniard suffered a very painful break that left the Russian 4-1 and serving. Rublev would win his serve for a 5-1 practically definitive, and closed the set and the match by 6-2 to leave Alcaraz out of the tournament.

In the Madrid Open 2024 semifinals, Andrey Rublev will face the winner of the match between Taylor Fritz and Francisco Cerúndolo.