Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz cruised past Alexander Zverev to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals but Daniil Medvedev fell to a shock defeat.
Top seed Alcaraz dominated throughout against Zverev, who he defeated in last year’s final, in a 6-1 6-2 victory.
The 19-year-old Spaniard will face Karen Khachanov in the last eight after he beat fifth seed Andrey Rublev.
Medvedev, seeded second, complained about the crowd in a 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 loss to fellow Russian Aslan Karatsev.
The world number three returned to his chair because of booing from the crowd during the first-set tie-break before the chair umpire was able to encourage him to return to the court.
He also claimed there was a lack of space behind the baseline on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium as he was knocked out by his 121st-ranked compatriot, who will meet Chinese history-maker Zhang Zhizhen next.
Alcaraz thriving in front of home support
US Open champion Alcaraz is bidding to win back-to-back titles following success in Barcelona two weeks ago, and leads the tour in clay court wins this season – with this his 16th.
The home favourite took just 83 minutes to dismiss Zverev, who continues to try to rediscover his form following a serious ankle injury sustained during last year’s French Open.
“For me it’s amazing to play the level that I played today,” said Alcaraz, who has lost just twice in 28 matches in 2023.
“It has been a question mark for me. I played well, I feel really good and this match gives me a lot of confidence.
“I just want to enjoy playing here in the Caja Magica in front of my home crowd. It’s been amazing for me so I just enjoy every moment.”
Russian 10th seed Khachanov awaits Alcaraz after beating in-form compatriot Rublev 7-6 (10-8) 6-4.
Zhang’s history-making run continues
Meanwhile, China’s Zhang continued his remarkable run in Madrid.
Having never won at a Masters 1000 event prior to this tournament, Zhang claimed his latest shock victory as he came back to beat American world number 10 Taylor Fritz.
Just as he did in stunning world number 27 Denis Shapovalov and 13th-ranked British number one Cameron Norrie, Zhang recovered from losing the opening set to beat Fritz 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (10-8).
Except this time the 26-year-old also had to save three match points – securing his first win over a top-10 ranked opponent to become the first Chinese player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.
In the women’s draw, Belarusian second seed Aryna Sabalenka will play Greek ninth seed Maria Sakkari in the semi-finals after both players survived early scares.
Sabalenka came back from a set down against unseeded Egyptian Mayar Sherif to prevail 2-6 6-2 6-1, before Sakkari overcame Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-2 to reach the last four in Madrid for the first time.
World number one Iga Swiatek and third seed Jessica Pegula will attempt to progress from their respective last-eight matches against Petra Martic and Veronika Kudermetova on Wednesday.
