De Minaur Exits Madrid Open as Świątek, Gauff Advance to Semifinals
Alex de Minaur’s run at the Madrid Open ended abruptly, with the sixth-seeded Australian falling in straight sets to Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti. Musetti secured a dominant 6-4, 6-2 win in just 83 minutes, marking his third consecutive victory over de Minaur following a loss in their 2022 Australian Open clash.
Musetti, the tournament’s 10th seed, will next face Canadian lucky loser Gabriel Diallo, who caused an upset by defeating 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov 5-7, 7-6 (9/7), 6-4.
De Minaur was broken early and struggled to recover, ultimately conceding three service breaks during the match. He now looks ahead to the Italian Open in Rome.
Meanwhile, fellow Italian Matteo Arnaldi continued his impressive form by following up his win over Novak Djokovic with a 6-3, 7-5 victory against Frances Tiafoe, securing a spot in his second ATP 1000 quarterfinal. Arnaldi will face Britain’s Jack Draper, who eased past Tommy Paul 6-2, 6-2.
In the women’s draw, defending champion Iga Świątek overcame a rocky start to defeat Madison Keys 0-6, 6-3, 6-2 in what she described as “one of the weirdest matches” of her career. Despite losing the first six games, the world number two regained control and advanced to the semifinals for a third straight year.
Świątek will now face Coco Gauff, who defeated 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1 in the youngest WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 2009. Gauff recovered from a break down and two set points in the opening set to take control of the match.
“I think I was dictating most of the rallies,” Gauff said of her performance.
The women’s quarterfinals were played just ahead of a widespread blackout earlier in the week that disrupted more than 20 matches at Madrid’s Caja Magica complex.
