Nadal eliminated, Alcaraz and Sinner shaken but qualified, Swiatek in the last four… What to remember from Tuesday’s matches

In addition to Nadal’s defeat in the night session, the day was also marked by the elimination of Alexander Zverev, world number 5.

It’s over for Rafael Nadal in Madrid. The Spanish champion, too close, was eliminated by Jiri Lehecka in the round of 16 of the Masters 1000, Tuesday April 30. On the clay court of the Spanish capital, Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev all won their tickets to the quarter-finals. In the women’s draw, Iga Swiatek was the first to qualify for the final four.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will seek their qualification

Alcaraz and Sinner both battled to reach the quarter-finals. Jannik Sinner, world number 2 and seed number 1, came back from a lost first set to finally overthrow Karen Khachanov (5-7, 6-3, 6-3) after a little over two hours of play. The Italian showed himself to be more solid and opportunistic than his opponent to conclude the points. In the next round he will meet Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated Casper Ruud.

For his part, the young Spaniard, double title holder, finally got the better of Jan-Lennard Struff (6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(4). Pushed to the decisive third set by the The German, in which he led and then was shaken, he was able to count on the support of the public to conclude the match after a fiery tie-break. He will face Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals.

He has already achieved his best result in the tournament. Thanks to his victory in two sets against Alexander Bublik (7[7]-6[3], 6-4), Daniil Medvedev won his first quarter-final in Madrid, the last Masters 1000 where he had not yet reached this stage. He could find the returning Rafael Nadal there, who faces Jiri Lehecka later in the evening.

Zverev goes by the wayside

The next round will be played without Alexander Zverev. The German, who won twice in the Spanish capital, was beaten in the round of 16 by the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (n°22), in two short sets (6-3, 6-4). Dominated, Zverev failed to rely on his serve and gave in to the power and accuracy of his opponent from the baseline. As in Monte-Carlo, the world number 5 fell before the quarter-finals, and was not much reassured, less than a month before the start of Roland-Garros. Cerundolo, who scored his first victory of the year against a member of the top 10, will meet Taylor Fritz (n°13) in the quarter-finals.

Iga Swiatek at the semi-finals

In the women’s table, the world number 1 continues to chart her course. Facing Beatriz Haddad Maia, Iga Swiatek came from a set behind, her first conceded in the tournament, to turn things around and win her ticket to the semi-finals (4-6, 6-0, 6-2). After losing the first set, the Pole did not panic and inflicted a 6-0 on her opponent to come back on level terms, before winning the decisive third set. She will face the American Madison Keys for a place in the final.