Alex de Minaur's journey at the Madrid Open has ended disappointingly after he lost decisively to Italian player Lorenzo Musetti, with the scoreline reading 6-4, 6-2. Despite being the sixth seed and having made it to the last 16 at five consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events, de Minaur struggled throughout the match, experiencing breaks in the opening game as well as two more in the second set. This loss marks Musetti's third consecutive victory over de Minaur, following their previous encounter at the 2022 Australian Open. Musetti now looks ahead to his next opponent, Canadian player Gabriel Diallo, who earned his spot by defeating Grigor Dimitrov in a closely contested match.
In other tournament highlights, Matteo Arnaldi continued his impressive form by defeating Frances Tiafoe after his recent win over Novak Djokovic, reaching the quarterfinals of an ATP 1000 tournament for the second time. He will next face Jack Draper, who advanced by beating Tommy Paul in straight sets. On the women's side, Iga Świątek, the defending champion, advanced after a thrilling match against Madison Keys. Having lost the first six games, Świątek managed to secure the win with a final score of 0-6, 6-3, 6-2, setting up a semifinal matchup against Coco Gauff. Gauff, who defeated 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva, expressed satisfaction with her performance, particularly after overcoming being down in the first set.
Both players had the fortune of concluding their previous matches just before a significant power outage affected gameplay at the Caja Magica tennis complex, causing over 20 matches to be postponed. Świątek, who is seeking her third consecutive Madrid final, shared her reflections on her match against Keys, acknowledging the early dominance of her opponent before she managed to shift the momentum and turn the match in her favor. Meanwhile, Gauff has been lauded for her ability to dictate the rallies as she progressed in the tournament.
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