Dominic Thiem is riding high at the Mutua Madrid Open. Just 24 hours after saving five match points to defeat Grigor Dimitrov in the third round, the eighth seed put in a nearly flawless performance to reach the semi-finals over lucky loser and #NextGenATP Croatian Borna Coric 6-1, 6-4. “It means a lot because this is a place with great memories for me. It’s where I had my first win over a Top 10 guy and now my first Masters 1000 semi-final is here,” said Thiem. “I was hoping for these results to come, but these tournaments are really strong, so it’s a great achievement.” The victory puts Thiem in his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final after going...
Fourth seed Rafael Nadal moved closer to a fifth Mutua Madrid Open title on Friday, fighting off a determined ninth seed David Goffin 7-6(3), 6-2 to reach the semi-finals. “I think it was a very good match and nice to watch. Goffin and I played at a really high level,” said Nadal. “It was a very tough match that I had to play at my highest level to be able to make the semi-finals. It's one of the matches that you go back home with a lot of adrenaline and feel satisfied for the work done.” Nadal is still in position to become the first player to sweep all three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court events, Roland Garros and...
Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas produced a moment of brilliance on Friday to turn the tables on #NextGenATP German Alexander Zverev in a 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory at the Mutua Madrid Open for a place in his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final. Cuevas hit the Hot Shot of the year as the pair's first meeting turned in his favour early in the second set, when Zverev served at 0-1, 40/30. Cuevas drew Zverev to the net with a delicate drop shot, only to be drawn to the net himself. Zverev then produced a backhand lob volley that sent the World No. 27 scurrying back to the baseline. Assured at the net, Zverev appeared to be the favourite to win the...
Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo remain on course to reach their third ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final of the season after they defeated seventh seeds Ivan Dodig and Marcel Granollers 6-1, 6-4 in 68 minutes on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open. Kubot and Melo lost just three of their first service points and recovered from a 2-4 deficit in the second set. The Polish-Brazilian team advanced to the finals of the BNP Paribas Open (l. to Klaasen-Ram) and the Miami Open presented by Itau (d. Monroe-Sock) earlier this year. The fourth seeds set up a semi-final against Nick Kyrgios and Jack Sock, who continued their popular run through the draw with a 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 10-7 victory over second...
Second seed and two-time champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals on Friday without hitting a ball when his quarter-final opponent, sixth seed Kei Nishikori, withdrew due to right wrist pain. The pair had been due to begin play on Court Manolo Santana at 12 noon local time. "I think it's still not one hundred per cent," said Nishikori. "I don't want to risk it too much today. I want to fight again in every match. It's been taking a long time since Miami. So I don't want to go too hard on my wrist." Djokovic will now prepare to face fourth seed and four-time titlist Rafael Nadal. Djokovic leads Nadal 26-23 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head...