The Spaniard lost 4-6 6-3 6-2 to Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals
Carlos Alcaraz has opened up after he failed to become the first player to clinch three-straight Madrid Open titles on Wednesday.
The Spaniard lost 4-6 6-3 6-2 to Russian Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals in front of his home crowd.
The two-time grand slam champion won the opening set but couldn’t continue the momentum as Rublev broke his opponent’s 14-match winning streak at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Alcaraz told reporters. that “I have to keep working to restore my normal forehead without thinking about my arm. Today I thought about it more than yesterday.”
“I think in Rome. I’ll continue to play with it (the arm sleeve) as a precaution.
“I think that in Rome, I will continue to play with it (an arm sleeve) as a precaution.
“The balance is positive, but when I go out on court I don’t want to lose. If we look at the overall it has been a very good week.”
Rublev will play his first semi-final in Madrid. As he prepares to face American Taylor Fritz tomorrow. HD Live Sports
“Maybe this week is a relief but then next week we’ll go back to the same. So it’s better not to think like that because that’s when you start thinking. ‘Oh, how good everything is’ at the beginning of the season. That’s what happened,” Rublev said.
“Then, for six weeks, I wasn’t winning anything. It better to not think at all. It’s not bad, it’s not good. It’s just a moment. It happens to everyone, every player has been through these moments.
“The most important thing is to keep working. And improve and then remember that a week can change anything.”
Italian top seed Jannik Sinner, who was set to lock horns with Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Madrid Open quarter-finals on Thursday, has also withdrawn from the tournament due to a hip injury.
“It’s very sad to withdraw from our next match here in Madrid,” Sunar said on social media platform X. “My hip has been bothering me this week. And slowly getting more painful.
“Taking the advice from the doctors we decided it’s best to not play further and make it worse.”