The world No.2s mark their birthdays with title runs at Caja Magica
©Antoine Couvercelle / FFTATP No.2 Carlos Alcaraz and WTA No.2 Aryna Sabalenka became two-time champions in Madrid over the weekend, ensuring their birthdays were not the only thing they got to celebrate at the Caja Magica.
Alcaraz, who turned 20 on Friday, successfully defended his title in the Spanish capital with a hard-fought 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 victory over German lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Sabalenka, who turned 25 on Friday, picked up her second Madrid trophy in three years with a powerful 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 upset of world No.1 Iga Swiatek in the final on Saturday.
Here’s a look at some of the highlights from an eventful fortnight in Madrid.
Alcaraz is a big match player and he knows it. The young man from Murcia is now 10-3 in career finals and 4-0 in title deciders at the Masters 1000 level.
He joked with reporters in Madrid that he wished he could stay a teenager a little longer “for the statistics”. Indeed, his list of records set as a teenager is both long and impressive.
Against the big-serving Struff in the final on Sunday, Alcaraz lost the second set as the German adopted an all-out attack strategy, serving-and-volleying at every opportunity. Alcaraz hit the reset button in the deciding set though to extend his current winning streak to 11 straight matches.
“In the end, the only thing I changed was being positive at the beginning of the third and going for everything on the opportunities that I had,” he said after the final.
“I believe in my ability to play at the important moments. It is when I am able to do different things from the rest. That's why I'm a finals player. I think I've played 12 or 13 finals and I've lost very few. In important moments I grow and give the best level.”
An accurate description from the reigning US Open champion, who now heads to Rome carrying a 29-2 win-loss record for the season, and with four titles captured from six events contested in 2023.
Notching a victory over two-time Roland-Garros champion Swiatek on clay must be one of the most satisfying feelings, and toughest tasks, for any tennis player; just ask Sabalenka!
The world No.2 had to dig deep to overcome Swiatek, who has been a dominant force on the red dirt for the past three seasons, amassing a 46-4 win-loss record on the surface since she lifted her first Roland-Garros crown in 2020.
Sabalenka had never taken a set off of Swiatek on clay in any of their previous three meetings but that all changed on Saturday as No.2 prevailed over No.1 in Madrid’s Magic Box.
In an interview with WTA Insider, Australian Open champion Sabalenka spoke about how her previous defeats to Swiatek highlighted the need to work harder on her fitness in order to keep up with the indefatigable Pole.
“I remember all those sprints and running workouts. It was really tough for me, but I kept thinking, ‘If you want to beat Iga you have to keep running, you have to keep pushing yourself’,” said Sabalenka, who is now 3-5 head-to-head against Swiatek overall.
“That's why I respect her a lot and that's why I'm saying that what she's done in tennis motivates me a lot. First of all, it's tough physically against her and secondly, mentally. Because you feel like you don't have these few games to drop your level. You always have to stay high with her.”
Saturday’s final was the second No.1 v No.2 championship match in as many weeks. Swiatek beat Sabalenka in the Stuttgart final before the tables were turned in Madrid 13 days later.
An all-top-two showdown is a rare occurrence on the women’s tour – the last time the WTA’s No.1 and No.2 met in consecutive events was the year 2000, when Martina Hingis and Lindsay Davenport played at Indian Wells and Miami – but Swiatek and Sabalenka are bucking that trend.
“I think that’s something amazing,” Sabalenka said.
“I think women’s tennis needs this kind of consistency to see world No.1 and world No.2 facing in the finals. I think it’s more enjoyable for fans to watch and it’s more intense.”
Will we see this match-up transpire on championship Saturday at Roland-Garros? It’s a genuine possibility!
From Mirra Andreeva’s march to the fourth round, celebrating her 16th birthday along the way, to Mayar Sherif’s maiden run to a WTA 1000 quarter-final, the fortnight in Madrid featured a slew of plot twists.
Struff became the first lucky loser to reach a Masters 1000 final – he was one of two lucky losers to reach the quarter-finals – while three players ranked outside the top-90 made it to the last-eight stage in the form of Daniel Altmaier, Zhang Zhizhen and Aslan Karatsev.
Zhang won three consecutive matches in a third-set tiebreak before becoming the first Chinese man to reach the fourth round and the quarter-finals at a Masters 1000 tournament. His victims in Madrid included world No.21 seed Denis Shapovalov in the second round, No.11 seed Cameron Norrie in the third, and No.8 seed Taylor Fritz.
His reward is a 30-spot jump up the rankings from 99 to a career-high 69 this week.
ROLAND-GARROS
19 May - 8 June 2025
