The men’s singles quarterfinals begin on Wednesday, while the women’s will be completed.
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz will face Karen Khachanov, while three-time Major winner Iga Swiatek takes on Petra Martic.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Wednesday’s play gets underway at 1:00pm local time.
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs. Karen Khachanov (10) – Not Before 4:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Alcaraz is now 26-2 on the year. He’s on an eight-match win streak on clay, and an 18-match win streak in his home country. Carlitos easily dispatched of Sascha Zverev on Tuesday by a score of 6-1, 6-2.
Khachanov is 19-8 overall, and 6-2 on clay. With two Major semifinals within the last year, he is on the precipice of returning the top 10 for the first time since 2019. Karen defeated his double partner and good friend Andrey Rublev in straight sets on Tuesday.
Alcaraz is 2-0 against Khachanov, having claimed all five sets they’ve contested, all of which occurred on clay. They played last May in the round of 16 of Roland Garros, and last July in Hamburg. On a clay court in Madrid, Carlitos is a strong favorite to again prevail. The Spanish No.1 has been in stellar form since an opening round scare against Emil Ruusuvuori.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Petra Martic (27) – Not Before 8:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Swiatek is now 23-4 this season, and 7-0 on clay. That’s a year after going 18-1 on this surface, and winning Roland Garros for a second time. She overcame a stern test from Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last round, coming from behind after dropping the first set.
Martic had a losing record on the year prior to this fortnight, as well as a losing record in Madrid, despite another quarterfinal appearance in 2019. Petra is 1-4 in WTA 1000 quarterfinals, with her only victory coming two years ago on clay in Rome. She upset another French Open champ, Barbora Krejcikova, in the last round.
Their only previous encounter occurred two years ago at Indian Wells, with Iga comfortably prevailing 6-1, 6-3. On her best surface, the world No.1 is a considerable favorite to again be victorious.
Other Notable Matches on Wednesday:
Jessica Pegula (3) vs. Veronika Kudermetova (12) – Pegula is 27-7 this year, and was the runner-up a year ago. Kudermetova is 13-9, and arrived in Madrid having lost six of her last seven matches. She saved match point on Monday against Daria Kasatkina to advance. This is their first career meeting, as Veronika attempts to reach her first WTA 1000 semifinal.
Daniel Altmaier (LL) vs. Borna Coric (17) – Coric was having a rough season before arriving in Madrid, but within the past few days has scored impressive wins over Hubert Hurkacz and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Altmaier won a Challenger title on clay last month, and is vying to become the first lucky loser to reach a Masters 1000 semifinal. This is another first career meeting.
Wednesday’s full Order of Play is here.
