Author: Barkha Roy
Number one seed and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached his second consecutive Madrid Open final on his birthday, beating Croatian Borna Coric 6-4, 6-3 in straight sets. Alcaraz had to perform at his highest level to beat Coric, who put in a determined performance. Alcaraz’s variety of skills played a crucial role in his victory, as he frequently moved Coric around the Manolo Santana Stadium. He managed to break Coric’s serve on four of the six occasions, securing victory in one hour and 41 minutes.
Alcaraz, who recently defended his Barcelona title, will now try to secure his fourth consecutive ATP Tour title on Sunday. If he succeeds, he could regain his first place in the ATP rankings. Alcaraz moved away from his usual tactic of drop shots and this, in turn, was crucial for him to open up the first set in the fifth game.
The Croat broke Alcaraz in the fourth game of the second set to level the match at 2-2, but his fatigue over the course of the match gave the Spaniard the edge, who won the second set 6-3. The local boy will now face lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff, who became the first player to reach the final of an ATP Masters 1000 event by beating qualifier Aslan Karatsev 4-6, 6-3 and 6-4.
After a challenging first set, in which he struggled to cope with Karatsev’s speed, the German made some adjustments and delivered a powerful and assertive performance in the second and third sets, dominating an exhausted Karatsev. He hit 37 winners and broke Karatsev’s serve three times, enabling him to reach his second final on tour.
In the women’s singles, world number one Iga Swiatek reached her first Madrid Open final after a resounding 6-1, 6-1 victory over 12th seed Veronika Kudermetova on Friday. The Polish star needed just 1 hour and 19 minutes to beat the Russian.
Swiatek got off to a strong start, winning the first seven points to take a 5-1 lead. She then saved a break point in that game with a well-executed backhand rally, before winning the set. In the second set, Swiatek again took a dominant 4-1 lead, but Kudermetova recovered and won four break points. However, Swiatek remained calm and thwarted each of Kudermetova’s attempts, securing the win without losing her own serve.
Meanwhile, in the women’s doubles, American pair Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, seeded number one, overcame unseeded duo Marta Kostyuk and Elena-Gabriela Ruse, winning the match 7-5, 7-6(5) and setting up the final showdown between the winners of the Brazil-Russia duo Beatriz Haddad Maia and Victoria Azarenka and the American-Canadian duo Taylor Townsend and Leylah Annie Fernandez, who are expected to play their semi-final on Saturday.