MADRID: Rafael Nadal got through another young opponent and showed signs he was getting closer to his best form on clay as he defeated Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-3 to make it to the Madrid Open quarterfinals on Thursday.
Nadal overcame eight aces and saved five break points against the Australian. The five-time Madrid champion cruised past Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz in the second round on Wednesday.
“There is a lot of young, good players. (It’s) something normal that is happening,” said Nadal, who at 34 is 13 years older than Popyrin. “And, yeah, I’m excited that at my age I am able to keep playing against all of them. They are good. They are talented. They have a great future. For me it’s amazing to be where I am with my age competing with them still.”
Nadal struggled at times against the aggressive style of the 76th-ranked Popyrin but was able to stay in control for most of the match on the Magic Box center court.
“I knew he was coming with confidence, he has this energy that the young players have,” Nadal said. “From what I could do, it was a good match, and I’m happy to make it to the quarterfinals again here.”
Nadal will next face fifth-seeded Alexander Zverev, who defeated Daniel Evans 6-3, 7-6 (3). The sixth-ranked German has won his last two matches against Nadal, though none were on clay.
Third-ranked Daniil Medvedev lost to Cristian Garin 6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-1. The Chilean broke serve twice in the third set to reach his second Masters 1000 quarterfinal. He will face eighth-seeded Matteo Berrettini, who defeated Federico Delbonis 7-6 (4), 6-4.
Earlier, US Open champion Dominic Thiem reached the last eight by defeating Alex de Minaur 7-6 (7), 6-4. The third-seeded Austrian is playing in his first tournament since taking a few weeks off after a slow start to his year.
“There were some good, long rallies. I was many, many times out of breath,” Thiem said. “It was perfect for me to get back a little bit the match rhythm, to run down a lot of balls. As it’s my first tournament, as it’s my way back, a buildup for the next week, it was great for me.”
Thiem’s opponent in the quarterfinals will be American John Isner, who used 29 aces — including two consecutive to clinch the deciding tiebreaker — to defeat sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6 (4), 3-6, 7-6 (4).
“To be honest, Andrey was the best player,” Isner said. “My serve kept me in the match. It’s been like that a lot throughout my career.”
Fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost to Nadal in the Barcelona final, fell 7-6 (4), 6-4 to Norwegian Casper Rudd, who is coming off consecutive semifinal appearances in Munich and Monte Carlo.
“I’m feeling good, especially here in Europe on the clay. It was a part of the season last year that I was looking extremely much forward to and unluckily it was kind of taken away from all the players,” the 22nd-ranked Ruud said. ”This was one of the tournaments that we didn’t get to play last year, so I’m just trying to enjoy the moment and take care of the chances that I get.”
Ruud’s next opponent will be Alexander Bublik, who defeated Aslan Karatsev 6-4, 6-3 to reach his second Masters 1000 quarterfinal of the season.
In the women’s final, top-ranked Ash Barty will face fifth-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, who defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-3.
Barty cruised into the final with a 6-4, 6-3 win over wild-card entry Paula Badosa, the first Spanish woman to reach the semifinals in Madrid.
“I know it’s been a big tournament for her, she’s played an exceptional level of tennis,” Barty said. “She served particularly well, being able to control the court with her forehand. I think that was a challenge today. I was trying to neutralize that as best I could.”
Badosa had been the only opponent to defeat Barty since February. Barty has won 16 straight matches on clay and will be playing in her fourth final this year, having won the previous three.
Nadal reaches Madrid Open quarters, Barty into final
https://arab.news/ra3sr
Nadal reaches Madrid Open quarters, Barty into final
Sabalenka beats Svitolina to reach Australian Open final
- Top-seeded Belarusian Sabalenka will bid for a third crown at Melbourne Park in four years and fifth Grand Slam title overall
MELBOURNE: Aryna Sabalenka swept to her fourth successive Australian Open final with a 6-2 6-3 win over Ukrainian Elina Svitolina on Thursday in a semifinal overshadowed by geopolitical tension.
Top-seeded Belarusian Sabalenka will bid for a third crown at Melbourne Park in four years and fifth Grand Slam title overall against the winner of the late semifinal between Jessica Pegula and Elena Rybakina at Rod Laver Arena.
“I just cannot believe that. It’s an incredible achievement but the job is not done yet,” world number one Sabalenka said on court. “I’m super happy with the win. She’s such a tough opponent and has been playing incredible tennis the whole week.”
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, for which Belarus has been a staging ground, Russian and Belarusian players have been banned from representing their nations at the Grand Slams and tour events.
Svitolina has been vocal about the strain of playing the countries’ players, and said she hoped to bring her nation “light” at the Australian Open after a tough winter.
The 27-year-old Sabalenka, however, crushed those hopes in a furious display of raw power.
She became the third woman in the professional era to reach the Australian Open decider four times in a row following Evonne Goolagong Cawley (1971-76) and Martina Hingis (1997-2002), who each played six finals in a row.
“Gutted not to make it through tonight,” Svitolina told reporters. “Of course it’s very difficult when you’re playing a world number one on fire.”
Svitolina comprehensively beaten
While 31-year-old Svitolina was comprehensively defeated, she fought hard from the first ball to the last.
The 12th seed started with tenacity, thumping a forehand winner down the line on the first point returning serve.
Sabalenka wobbled, giving up two break points with a loose backhand, but blasted her way out of danger.
There was early tension at 2-1 when Svitolina was awarded a point mid-rally, with Sabalenka penalized for hindering the point with a late grunt.
Incensed, she demanded a video review but the point stood.
She channelled her frustration into breaking Svitolina, then held for a 4-1 lead.
Pinning Svitolina well behind the baseline, Sabalenka grabbed three set points and converted the third, roaring “Let’s go!” after a sizzling cross-court backhand winner.
After 41 minutes of earth-shaking power, Sabalenka’s weapons finally misfired.
She dropped the opening service game of the second set with a clutch of errors, raising cheers from a crowd yearning for a contest.
But Sabalenka steadied herself, breaking Svitolina twice in succession.
Svitolina never dropped her head and earned a break point when trailing 4-2 to put the match back on serve.
Sabalenka was not to be denied, though.
After thrashing a forehand winner down the line to save the break point, she proved unstoppable.
Grabbing two match points with a huge serve, Sabalenka closed it out in style, swooping forward with a forehand cross-court winner to book her chance of claiming a third trophy at Melbourne Park.
