Dabrowski, Auger-Aliassime, Shapovalov ousted in Madrid doubles quarterfinals

Canadians Gabriela Dabrowski, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov were eliminated from doubles competition in quarterfinal action Tuesday at the Madrid Open.

Ottawa's Dabrowski and Brazilian partner Luisa Stefani, who were seeded sixth in women's doubles competition in Madrid, fell 6-4, 3-6, 10-5 to the top-seeded American duo of Jessica Pegula and Coco Gauff.

The Americans had 13 break point chances, converting two, and defended two of the three break chances they faced in a match that took one hour 20 minutes to complete.

The Canadians had nine aces, but committed six double-faults and were broken twice on four chances.

Arevalo and Rojer played a clean game with no double faults and 79 per cent of service points won. They failed to defend the only break point chance they allowed.

Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., and American partner Taylor Townsend will face Hsieh Su-Wei of Taiwan and Barbora Strycova of Czechia in a women's quarterfinal on Wednesday.

On track to defend title

Carlos Alcaraz made sure he wouldn't be among the top seeds being upset, playing well from the start to secure his spot in the quarterfinals with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Alexander Zverev.

After both second-seeded Daniil Medvedev and fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev lost their fourth-round matches at the clay-court tournament, Alcaraz cruised past 13th-seeded Zverev to stay on track to defend his title at home.

It was a rematch of last year's Madrid final, which Alcaraz also comfortably won against the former two-time champion in the Spanish capital.

"For me it's amazing to play the level that I played today," Alcaraz said. "I feel really good right now and this match gives me a lot of confidence."

Alcaraz didn't concede any break opportunities against Zverev and converted on four of the 10 break chances he had. The 19-year-old Spaniard ended with 21 winners and 12 unforced errors. Zverev had only nine winners and 22 unforced errors.

Alcaraz, coming off the title in Barcelona, has won 18th straight matches in Spain.

Sherif makes Egyptian history

Women's second seed Aryna Sabalenka reached the last four after trailing Mayar Sherif by a set and a break. Sabalenka rallied to beat the Egyptian 2-6, 6-2, 6-1.

The Australian Open champion reached her fifth semifinal in seven tournaments. She won Madrid in 2021.

The 59th-ranked Sherif was the first Egyptian to make it to the quarterfinals in a WTA 1000 event.

"It was crazy match. I think she played unbelievable tennis. It was really tough today," Sabalenka said. "I just couldn't adjust for her game, and I was really going crazy. I'm really happy that I was able to stop myself, to take a little breath and just like start everything from the beginning."

Sabalenka will next face ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari, who rallied to defeat Irina-Camelia Begu 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2.

Medvedev lost to 121st-ranked qualifier Aslan Karatsev, a fellow Russian, 7-6 (1), 6-4. It was Karatsev's first victory against a top-10 opponent since 2021.

Medvedev complained of the small dimensions of the Arantxa Sanchez Vicario court, saying he should have played on center court as the No. 2 seed.

Karatsev is a former No. 14 in the world and has won three tour titles, the last in Sydney last year. He was a semifinalist at the Australian Open in 2021.

Rublev beat by doubles partner

"I'm feeling great," said Karatsev, who will play either Taylor Fritz or Zhang Zhizhen in the quarterfinals.

Rublev lost to his doubles partner and also fellow Russian Karen Khachanov 7-6 (8), 6-4. Khachanov saved two set points in the tiebreaker in his first win against a top-10 opponent on clay since 2019.

"It's always tricky to play against each other because, on one side, we know each other's games perfectly because we've been training together for so many years," Khachanov said. "At the same time, we know what to expect, but also of course a bit nervous to play against each other. We are good friends."

Khachanov, who improved to 19-0 after winning the first set in 2023, will face Alcaraz in the quarterfinals.

Khachanov and Rublev made it to the doubles quarterfinals, where Jamie Murray and Michael Venus await.

Daniel Altmaier reached the quarterfinals by defeating Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-0. Altmaier's next opponent will be Borna Coric, who defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Zhang 1st Chinese man to reach Masters 1000 quarters

Zhang Zhizhen needed to save three match points in his win over Taylor Fritz at the Madrid Open to become the first Chinese player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal on Tuesday.

Zhang rallied from a set down against the eighth-seeded American to advance 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (8), winning in a final-set tiebreaker for the third straight time at the clay-court tournament in the Spanish capital. It was the first win against a top-10 opponent for the 26-year-old Zhang.

The 99th-ranked Zhang had upset No. 13 Cameron Norrie in the third round in Madrid for his biggest career win. Zhang had beaten 21st-seeded Denis Shapovalov in the second round. He has played seven tiebreakers in total in Madrid, winning six of them.

In 2021, Zhang became the first man representing China to earn a spot in the main draw at Wimbledon in the Open era, which began in 1968 when professionals were admitted to Grand Slam tennis tournaments.