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The Spanish player followed Nadal out of the Madrid Open after suffering a shock defeat at the hands of Andrey Rublev. Carlos Alcaraz saw his hopes of a hat-trick of titles at the Madrid Open ended in stunning fashion by Andrey Rublev on Wednesday.
Rublev earned the biggest win of his career on clay by defeating Alcaraz 4-6 6-3 6-2 under the roof of Manolo Santana Stadium.
"I can't believe that I was able to stay calm throughout the match. I didn't say a word and even I'm impressed by that,'' 10-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist Rublev said.
"I want to believe that I have been working on this because if not then I'm stupid. After so many years, to not improve on this would mean that something is wrong with my head. I just thought to myself to keep trying, keep fighting, keep believing in yourself.
"I just wanted to go for it and thought maybe I will have more break points and in the end, I was able to return well and break him. It gave me confidence to go for it and little by little I was able to do it. The atmosphere was crazy and it was nice to play here."
Backed by a partisan home crowd, which included former Spain international footballers David Villa and Raul and Real Madrid star Luka Modric, the 20-year-old began well.
But underdog Rublev swung the momentum by breaking serve in the second game of the second set before dominating the remainder of the contest to set up a semi-final with either American Taylor Fritz or Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo.
Alcaraz, who missed clay-court events in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona due to a right arm injury, follows fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, a four-time winner of the competition, out of the tournament in a disappointing 24 hours for home fans.
Speaking after his defeat Alcaraz said plans to play in Rome to continue his preparation for the French Open later this month, despite problems with his right forearm.
"I'm going to work to be close to 100 per cent or in a good way to play Rome, but I'm going to decide these days. But I think I'll be OK," he said.
Lewis Musonye
