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Jan-Lennard Struff thought he was finished at the Madrid Open when he lost to Aslan Karatsev in the final round of qualifying last week.
He then earned an unexpected spot in the main draw of the tournament as a lucky loser and hit it big, upsetting fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3 on Thursday to seal the win. Another shot at Karatsev – this time in the semi-finals.
The big-serving German is the third lucky loser to reach the semi-finals of the Masters 1000.
Top seed Ija Swiatek and second seed Aryna Sabalenka won the semifinals and will meet for the title on Saturday. It would be a rematch of the final in Stuttgart two weeks ago, when Swiatek won.
It will be the first time that the two top No. 1 players have met in a WTA 1000 final since top seed Serena Williams beat second seed Li Na for the 2014 Miami Open title.
“I really want to get that revenge,” said Sabalenka.
The 33-year-old gets a chance to avenge a 6-4 6-2 loss to Karatsev in the qualifiers. He only made it to the main draw because another player withdrew.
It may be the fourth with Struff 🇩🇪
Bad luck @tweet STUNS Tsitsipas reaches the semi-finals of the Masters 1000!#MMOpen pic.twitter.com/gsTcmIX6oK
– Tennis Channel (TennisTV) May 4, 2023
Struff dropped just five main-draw matches on his way to the quarter-finals and lost just one match to Tsitsipas on his way to victory in the Spanish capital.
“It feels great. It was a very tough fight,” said Struve.
“I’m very happy because I played well today.”
Fifth seed Tsitsipas was coming off a final appearance at the Barcelona Open, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. He was runner-up to Novak Djokovic in Madrid in 2019.
Alcaraz faces 17th-ranked defending champion Borna Couric in the other semi-final. Karatsev reached the semi-finals of the Masters 1000 after finishing off a strong run of Chinese player Zhang Zhizhen 7-6(3), 6-4.
The Russian veteran saved all three break points he faced in the first set and converted his only chance in the second. “Aslan has been playing great this week so far and has easily beaten me in the playoffs, I want to say,” said Struve.
“I didn’t play the best tennis in that match, but he made me play not so well, I feel that. I think we need to analyze it now, focus on the match tomorrow and hopefully I can do better.”
In 2021, he became the first man in his Grand Slam debut to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open, and he became the second qualifier to reach the semi-finals in Madrid. ” He said.
“You have to keep going and believe, and I have a team behind me that always supports me and believes in me.”
Swatek overtook 12th seed Veronika Kudmitova 6-1 6-1 to reach her first final in Madrid and set up a rematch with Sabalenka, who took a 6-4 6-1 lead over Maria Sakkari.
Swiatek improved to 27-1 on clay since the start of last season. She will be playing in the WTA 1000 Finals for the seventh time in her career, equaling Caroline Wozniacki for the most appearances in a final at this level by the age of 22 since WTA 1000 events began in 2009.
“I’m just happy that I have a chance to be in the final,” said Swiatek.
Sabalenka, the 2021 champion in Madrid, opened up a 3-0 lead before breaking through to ninth seed Sakkari. She then won nine of her last 11 matches, including the last five, to finish comfortably.
“It was actually my best match of the tournament,” said Sabalenka. “I’m very happy with the level I’ve played, especially with my mental game.”
The Australian Open champion is seeking her fifth WTA 1000 title and 13th career title overall. This will be only the third time in the past 40 years that the top two players in the rankings twice have faced each other on clay in a single season.
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