All fourth round men’s singles matches will take place on Tuesday, as well as the first two women’s singles quarterfinals.
In a match between two recent Madrid champions, defending champ Carlos Alcaraz takes on two-time champ Sascha Zverev. The day also sees two all-Russian encounters, as Andrey Rublev faces Karen Khachanov, and Daniil Medvedev plays Aslan Karatsev. And other fourth round ATP action includes Stefanos Tsitsipas and Taylor Fritz.
Tuesday’s WTA quarterfinals feature 2021 champ Aryna Sabalenka and two-time Major semifinalist Maria Sakkari.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Tuesday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Karen Khachanov (10) vs. Andrey Rublev (5) – 11:00am on Manolo Santana Stadium
Rublev is 23-9 on the year, and 10-1 across the past three weeks on clay, which includes claiming the biggest title of his career in Monte Carlo. He defeated both Stan Wawrinka and Yoshihito Nishioka in straight sets to reach this quarterfinal.
Khachanov is 18-8 in 2023, and 5-2 on this surface. He’s outlasted the opposition in two three-setters thus far, including a near three-hour battle with Roberto Bautista Agut on Sunday.
These friends and doubles partners, who are still alive in the men’s doubles draw, have split six meetings at all levels. But Rublev took the only one on clay, which occurred just a few weeks ago in this same round of Monte Carlo. And with Andrey being the fresher of the two, he should be favored to advance to the Madrid quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Sascha Zverev (13) – Not Before 4:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Alcaraz is 25-2 this season, despite missing all of January due to injury. He’s now won 17 straight matches in his home country, after taking out Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets on Sunday.
Zverev is just 12-11, as he continues to regain his form after the serious ankle injury he suffered nearly a year ago at Roland Garros. He dominated French qualifier Hugo Grenier in the last round, dropping just one game.
Sascha is 3-1 against Carlitos, though they are 1-1 on clay. Last year in the final of this event, Alcaraz crushed Zverev 6-3, 6-1, just a day after playing a three-and-a-half hour marathon against Novak Djokovic. But a few weeks later in the quarterfinals of the French Open, Zverev would avenge that loss, prevailing in a fourth-set tiebreak. That would be the last match Sascha would complete in the 2022 season.
In their clay rubber match on Tuesday, Alcaraz is a considerable favorite. In the absence of Nadal and Djokovic, he is definitively the best clay court player in this event. And Zverev is not yet back to his level from a year ago when he defeated Carlitos.
Other Notable Matches on Tuesday:
Mayar Sherif vs. Aryna Sabalenka (2) – Sabalenka is now 26-4 this year overall, and 6-1 on clay. She hasn’t dropped a set to this stage. Sherif only owned one main draw win at a WTA 1000 event prior to this surprising quarterfinal run, during which she has upset three seeded players (Kalinina, Garcia, Mertens). This is their first career meeting.
Aslan Karatsev (Q) vs. Daniil Medvedev (2) – Medvedev leads the tour with 33 match wins, and survived a stern test from Alexander Shevchenko on Monday. Meanwhile this is the farthest Karatsev has ever gone at a Masters 1000 event. Aslan actually leads their head-to-head 3-1 at all levels, and 1-0 on clay, having defeated Daniil two years ago in Rome in straight sets.
Borna Coric (17) vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29) – Coric upset Hubert Hurkacz in the last round, in only his ninth victory of the season. Davidovich Fokina upset Holger Rune in an epic encounter that went into the early hours of Monday morning, decided by a third-set tiebreak. Their only prior encounter has also quite dramatic, with Alejandro prevailing 7-5 in the third last March at Indian Wells.
Taylor Fritz (8) vs. Zhizhen Zhang – Fritz in 27-8 on the year, and now 7-2 on clay. Zhizhen is the first Chinese man to reach the round of 16 at a Masters 1000 event, and outlasted both Denis Shapovalov and Cam Norrie in third-set tiebreaks.
Maria Sakkari (9) vs. Irina-Camelia Begu (31) – Sakkari eliminated Paula Badosa in straight sets on Monday. Begu is yet to drop a set, and has now advanced to the quarterfinals of Madrid for the third time. Maria is 2-1 against Irina, with all three matches taking place on hard courts.
Bernabe Zapata Miralles vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) – Tsitsipas has already withstood two three-setters, against Dominic Thiem and Sebastian Baez. Zapata Miralles had never won a main draw match at a Masters tournament prior to this fortnight in his home country.
Tuesday’s full Order of Play is here.
