Thursday hosts the final two men’s singles quarterfinals, as well as both women’s singles semifinals.
Hailey Baptiste’s last two matches have been two of the most dramatic matches of the entire year. In the round of 16, she held six match points during the second-set tiebreak against Belinda Bencic. Yet despite double-faulting away several of those match points, and losing that tiebreak 16-14, Baptiste reset and managed to win the third set 6-3.
And the very next day in the quarterfinals against World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, it was Baptiste’s turn to save six match points, and then prevail 8-6 in the third-set tiebreak. Now in her first-ever WTA 1000 semifinal, how will Baptiste fare against two-time WTA 1000 champion Mirra Andreeva?
The other women’s singles semifinal will definitely see one player achieve their first-ever WTA 1000 final: either Marta Kostyuk or Anastasia Potapova.
Plus, the men’s singles quarterfinals conclude on Thursday, and they feature two former Madrid champions: Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud.
Here’s a rundown of the most notable matches on Thursday (in chronological order, all times local):
Casper Ruud (12) vs. Alexander Blockx – 1:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Ruud saved two match points in the last round against Stefanos Tsitsipas, eventually outlasting the Greek in a match decided by three tiebreaks. But the defending champion in still in danger of falling out of the world’s top 20 unless he wins on Thursday. Blockx is a 21-year-old Belgian who started the year ranked outside the top 100, yet he will debut inside the top 50 on Monday, as he has now won 25 matches this season all at levels,. Blockx already eliminated three seeds from this event (Nakashima, Auger-Aliassime, Cerundolo), and he possesses a big serve and forehand. This will be a first career meeting.
Hailey Baptiste (30) vs. Mirra Andreeva (9) – Not Before 4:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
While her path to this semifinal has not as dramatic as Baptiste’s, Andreeva almost exited this tournament two rounds ago, when she survived a third-set tiebreak against Anna Bondar. Mirra has somewhat quietly accumulated 25 match wins this season, and she is now 11-1 on clay this past month, with a title in Linz. Her only prior encounter with Baptiste came last summer at Wimbledon, where Andreeva prevailed 6-1, 6-3. But this is a different version of Baptiste, who has now defeated three top 12 players in succession (Paolini, Bencic, Sabalenka). And while this is the biggest match of Baptiste’s career, we’ve seen Andreeva emotionally implode on-court many times, most memorably during last year’s Roland Garros quarterfinals against Lois Boisson.
Flavio Cobolli (10) vs. Alexander Zverev (2) – Not Before 8:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
Zverev has required three sets during two of his matches thus far, including against Jakub Mensik in the last round. However, he now owns 28 match wins in Madrid, more than any other Masters 1000 event, and he’s 6-0 in his last six Masters quarterfinals. By stark contrast, this is a first Masters quarterfinal in the career of Cobolli, and he’s also contested a pair of three-setters this fortnight, outlasting Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday evening. Zverev leads their head-to-head 2-1, but Cobolli’s victory came less than two weeks ago in the Munich semifinals, where he comfortably won 6-3, 6-3.
Marta Kostyuk (26) vs. Anastasia Potapova (LL) – Not Before 9:30 on Manolo Santana Stadium
Kostyuk has not lost a set through four rounds, which includes an upset over Jessica Pegula. And she’s currently on a 10-match winning streak, after claiming the title two weeks ago in Rouen. Potapova is a lucky loser who upset Elena Rybakina two rounds ago, then eliminated Karolina Pliskova in the quarterfinals. And she was the runner-up just a few weeks ago in Linz. These players have split their four previous meetings, with their only clay court matchup going to Kostyuk, which took place a year ago at this same tournament.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
