World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz toppled Croat Borna Coric 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 40 minutes, securing his place in Sunday’s championship match.
In his on-court interview, the Spaniard, who claimed his 10th victory in Madrid on the day of his 20th birthday, commented: “It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid. It is such a special place for me, and I have great memories since I came here to play [as an] under-12. Of course, last year was amazing.”
“Turning 20 like that is special. I will enjoy the final here and try to make all of Spain happy.”
The top seed is seeking to lift his fourth trophy this season, defending back-to-back titles, after becoming a two-time champion in Barcelona two weeks ago.
The Murcia native took a tight opener 6-4 in 61 minutes, breaking Coric - displayed high-level tennis across the top encounter - in the fifth game with a forehand-forcing shot.
Dominating the second game with his vast repertoire, the 20-year-old broke his opponent three times on his way to a 6-3 triumph.
Alcaraz won 71 percent of the first serve points, while the Croatian won 61 percent on his.
En route to the last four, the 9-time ATP titlist took out 10th seed Karen Khachanov 6-5, 7-5 on Wednesday.
Also, he edged two-time Madrid champion Alexander Zverev and World No. 32 Grigor Dimitrov.
He launched his title defense campaign against Finn Emil Ruusuvuori a week ago, dropping the only set throughout the tournament on his way to the final.
The other semifinal will feature Qualifier Aslan Karatsev against Jan Lennard Struff a rematch of their qualifying clash, in which the World No. 121 overcame the latter 6-4, 6-2.
On Thursday, the three-time ATP titlist from Vladikavkaz powered past World No. 99 Zhizhen Zhang 7-6(3), 6-4 to achieve his maiden career Masters 1000 semifinal at the Caja Magica.
In his first-rounder, he took down Serbian Laslo Djere to then overcome 23rd seed Botic van de Zandschulp 6-2, 7-5, setting a clash with 16th seed Australian Alex de Minaur.
Against De Minaur, he claimed his first Top 20 victory in two years, reaching the third round in the Spanish city capital on Monday.
Building momentum, Karatsev stunned second seed Daniil Medvedev in straight sets on his way to the quarterfinals, setting a meeting with Zhang, the first Chinese man to progress to a Masters 1000 quarterfinal.
For his part, Struff earned a second chance to enter the main draw as a lucky loser, and thus far, he has made the most out of it, becoming the third lucky loser ever to advance to a Masters 1000 semifinal.
The 33-year-old outstanding campaign on the Spanish clay courts has seen him upsetting fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in their quarterfinals matchup, defeating the Greek player 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-3, after two hours and 30 minutes.
The World No. 65 also took out Italian Lorenzo Sonego, American Ben Shelton, in-form Dusan Lajovic, Pedro Cachin and Tsitsipas.
As of today, the European clay court swing has seen the best tennis from Struff, delivering good performances and showcasing great consistency.
Coric Raising
Late last year, the World No. 20 won the ATP Comeback Player of the Year award in recognition of an outstanding return from an injury campaign.
Sidelined from Tour for over a year due to a right shoulder injury that required surgery on May 2021, he returned to tour-level competition at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, having dropped in the ATP Rankings to World No. 278.
And what a difference a year can make! In May 2023, he is back at the Top 20, meeting the reigning U.S. Open champion for the first time in his career in Saturday’s semifinals.
Last August, the 26-year-old was ranked at World No. 152 when he produced an impressive run at the Western & Southern Open tournament held in Cincinnati, in which he won five matches across the week, stunning Rafael Nadal en route to reaching his first final on Tour since 2020.
An action-packed, thrilling championship match would see the Zagreb native beat fourth seed Tsitsipas to clinch his maiden Masters 1000 career crown.
In Madrid, the player mentored by Mate Delic advanced to the last four, prevailing over German lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-3 after one hour and 14 minutes on Friday.
In his quarterfinal match, he survived a three-setter thriller against in-form Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, a box office that brought the local fans to the edge of their seats.
Against Davidovich Fokina, Coric dropped his only set in the event ahead of his semifinal appearance.
Furthermore, on his way to the last four, he moved past 12th seed Hubert Hurkacz and Frenchman Hugo Gaston.
In 2023, his best results before Madrid came in Montpellier and Dubai, reaching the quarterfinals in both tournaments.