Madrid Open | Barty overcomes a fighting Kvitova to make the semifinals
Badosa becomes first Spanish woman to enter last four; Nadal cruises into the last 16
World No.1 Ashleigh Barty, chasing her fourth singles title of the year, will take on Paula Badosa in the semifinals of the Madrid Open after getting past two-time winner Petra Kvitova 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 on Wednesday.
Wild card Badosa became the first Spanish woman in the tournament’s 12-year history to make the last four with her 6-4, 7-5 win over eighth seed Belinda Bencic.
In the men’s draw, Rafael Nadal began his bid for a sixth Madrid Open title, easing past 18-year-old comaptriot Carlos Alcaraz 6-1, 6-2 to reach the last 16.
Ranked 120 in the world, Alcaraz battled bravely and even broke Nadal’s serve in the second set but was predictably overwhelmed by one of the game’s greats in a match that lasted one hour and 17 minutes.
Second seed Daniil Medvedev, returning to the circuit afer testing positive for COVID-19 in mid-April, picked up his first win on clay for two years when he came back from a set down to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
