Madrid Open 2023 Report

Despite both Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal being sidelined due to injury at the 2023 Madrid Open, the prestigious clay-court tournament once again boasted plenty of big stars. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was the top seed for the 2023 Madrid Open, and with newly crowned Monte Carlo Masters winner Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and two-time Madrid champion Alexander Zverev, there were plenty of serious challengers for the Spanish superstar. Good old Andy Murray was also in the mix. The Briton has also won the Madrid ATP-1000 tournament twice and could once again bid for the overall title at the 2023 Madrid Open.

Besides all the big names from the world's top ten, two Dutch players were also on the entry list in Madrid. Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp both steamed through to the second round without hitting a single ball after a bye , which unfortunately proved to be the end of the road for both compatriots. Griekspoor was forced to retire after one set (7-6) against Jaume Munar, while Aslan Karatsev proved too strong for Van de Zandschulp. The final score was 6-2/7-5 in favor of the 29-year-old Russian.

Highlights Madrid Open 2023

At that point, Argentinian Diego Schwartzman had already been eliminated. Schwartzman, normally strong on clay, couldn't hold his own against Frenchman Hugo Grenier. Murray also had to surrender in the first round. In an hour and a half, Italian Andrea Vavassori proved too strong with a score of 6-2/7-6. That the Italians have a history of pulling off upsets at the 2023 Madrid Open became clear a round later. The young Mattei Arnaldi, 22, won 6-4/6-3 against third-seeded clay-court specialist Casper Ruud. Other notable second-round exits included Denis Shapovalov (to Zhizhen Zhang), Lorenzo Musetti (to Yannick Hanfmann), and Felix Auger Aliassime (to Dusan Lajovic).

In the third round, Roberto Bautista-Agut was forced to retire from the tournament. The Spaniard was defeated by Karen Khachanov. Surprisingly, Holger Rune was also eliminated in this stage of the tournament. In a grueling match that lasted over three hours, Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina proved too strong, winning 7-6/5-7/7-6. Furthermore, Frances Tiafoe (ATP-12) was defeated in straight sets by the relatively unknown Pedro Cachin (ATP-68). After Zhang defeated Shapovalov in the previous round, the Chinese player now also defeated Cameron Norrie (2-6/7-6/7-6).

Alcaraz makes mincemeat of Zverev

By the fourth round, now in the round of 16, it was time for a repeat of the 2022 Madrid final. Alcaraz was set to face Zverev. While Alcaraz had easily defeated the German last year, this proved to be the case again. In a one-sided match, Alcaraz crushed Zverev 6-1/6-2, once again demonstrating his strong form. Zhang also remained in the tournament with another impressive victory (this time against Taylor Fritz), which, incidentally, was not the case for the two highest-ranked Russians in the tournament, Medvedev and Rublev. They both lost in straight sets, and each to a compatriot, Karatsev and Khachanov respectively.

The other players who qualified for the quarterfinals were Borna Coric, Tsitsipas, and – remarkably – two Germans: Jan-Lennard Struff and Daniel Altmaier. Struff pulled off a dramatic upset by defeating Tsitsipas in a thrilling three-setter (7-6/5-7/6-3), while Altmaier's adventure ended after a 6-3/6-3 defeat to Coric. Karatsev ended the Chinese Zhang's fairytale with a 7-6/6-4 victory, and Alcaraz also convincingly advanced to the semifinals. The Spaniard defeated Khachanov 6-4/7-5. Because Struff won his semifinal against Karatsev (4-6/6-3/6-4) and Alcaraz defeated Coric 6-4/6-4, the final of the 2023 Madrid Open became a Spanish-German affair.

Madrid Open 2023 Final

Struff, in particular, was incredibly successful in qualifying for the final in Madrid. The German initially lost in qualifying for the tournament, but was allowed to participate as a so-called " lucky loser ," and this paid off with victories over Lorenzo Sonego, Tsitsipas, and Karatsev, among others. He thus became the first lucky loser ever to reach the final of an ATP 1000 tournament. Alcaraz, who just turned twenty, had already won the Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, and Barcelona tournaments in 2023 and was therefore seeking his fourth title of 2023.

Those who thought this final would be a walk in the park for Alcaraz were mistaken. Although the Spaniard won the first set 6-4 in his home country, Struff took the second set (3-6). In the deciding set, however, Alcaraz quickly broke his opponent and, after about two and a half hours of tennis, professionally served out the match (6-4). Thus, the super talent claimed his fourth ATP title of the year and rekindled his quest for world number one .