Friday features the men’s singles semifinals, as well as the doubles semifinals from both the ATP and WTA.
A new Madrid champion will be crowned in Sunday’s men’s singles championship match, as a slew of upsets and withdrawals have eliminated the top six seeds from the event. Friday’s first ATP singles semifinal sees a pair of one-time Masters 1000 champions square off, as 2023 Monte Carlo champion Andrey Rublev plays 2022 Indian Wells champ Taylor Fritz. The second semi features two men who have never appeared in a Masters 1000 final: Jiri Lehecka and Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Friday’s play gets underway at 1:00pm local time.
Taylor Fritz (12) vs. Andrey Rublev (7) – Not Before 4:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
This is an eighth Masters 1000 semifinal for Rublev, all within the past four seasons. And this one is quite surprising, as Andrey came into Madrid on a four-match losing streak, after getting defaulted in Dubai for one of his all-too-common on-court temper tantrums. He is 4-3 in Masters 1000 semis, and has only dropped one of nine sets this fortnight, coming from a set down in the quarterfinals to upset two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
For Fritz, this is a fourth semifinal at this level, where he holds a record of 1-2. He is 19-7 this season, and 7-2 on clay, having reached the final of Munich two weeks ago. Taylor has also lost just one set through four rounds, which also came during his quarterfinal, against Francisco Cerundolo.
Fritz narrowly leads their head-to-head 4-3, with six of those matches taking place on hard courts. Their only clay court meeting was their most recent one, and was also a Masters 1000 semifinal. Last April in Monte Carlo, Rublev prevailed 6-3 in the third. And on Friday, I favor Andrey to win again on clay. He rose to a superb level in the last two sets against Alcaraz on Wednesday, and will be brimming with confidence.
Felix Auger-Aliassime vs. Jiri Lehecka (30) – Not Before 8:00pm on Manolo Santana Stadium
After earning 60 match wins in 2022 and ending the year at a career-high of World No.6, it’s been a tough period for Auger-Aliassime, who has struggled with his form and fought injuries and illness. He arrived in Madrid just 11-10 on the year, but defeated two top 20 seeds to reach his first Masters 1000 semifinal in 18 months, a round in which he is 0-2 previously. His most impressive victory during this tournament was over one of the ATP’s best clay courters, Casper Ruud. Felix received a walkover in the quarterfinals from an injured Jannik Sinner.
22-year-old Lehecka benefited from a mid-match retirement in his quarterfinal against Daniil Medvedev. But Jiri appears to be one of the ATP’s next big stars, especially after his composed defeat of Rafael Nadal earlier this week. Lehecka is now 17-8 this season, and is currently projected to reach a new career-high of No.22 on Monday. Jiri has not dropped a set this fortnight, on the way to his first Masters 1000 semifinal.
Their only previous meeting occurred last January at the Australian Open, where Lehecka prevailed in a fourth-set tiebreak. That was a breakout tournament for Jiri, reaching his first Major quarterfinal. And I suspect his next match against Auger-Aliassime will help him achieve another milestone: his first Masters 1000 final. Lehecka’s serving prowess during this tournament has been on full display, as he’s only been broken once through four matches. And he’s coached by a man who has experience advancing to the championship match in Madrid: Tomas Berdych.
Other Notable Matches on Friday:
Su-Wei Hsieh and Elise Mertens (1) vs. Barbora Krejcikova and Laura Siegemund (6) – Su-Wei and Mertens already won the Australian Open and Indian Wells as a team this year. Krejcikova and Siegemund are a new team for 2024, and are vying for the first final of their partnership.
Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson vs. Jamie Murray and Michael Venus (11) – Korda and Thompson are a new team this fortnight, taking advantage of the new ATP doubles format at Masters 1000 events where doubles play does not start until the second week. Murray and Venus have won five titles since the start of their partnership in 2023.
Ariel Behar and Adam Pavlasek vs. Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos (2) – Behar and Pavlasek are playing to reach the biggest final of their careers. Granollers and Zeballos saved four match points on Thursday, in a match-tiebreak that went all the way to 16-14.
Cristina Bucsa and Sara Sorribes Tormo (8) vs. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and Anastasia Potapova (OSE) – Bucas and Sorribes Tormo are another new partnership, and the Spaniards have excelled at their home country’s biggest tournament. Team Anastasia hadn’t teamed together since 2021, yet have already upset two top 10 seeds.
Friday’s full Order of Play is here.
