Carlos Alcaraz defends himself to continue in good shape in Madrid

World number 2 Carlos Alcaraz produced a second-set comeback to defeat Karen Khachanov and secure his place in the Madrid Open semifinals.

Defending champion Alcaraz is challenging for back-to-back ATP Tour titles after winning in Barcelona last week.

The 19-year-old Spaniard took the first set against 10th seed Khachanov with a lone break in the seventh game.

Alcaraz, the tournament’s top seed, then rallied from 5-2 to win the next five games and complete a 6-4, 7-5 victory.

“Winning this match gives me a lot of confidence,” Alcaraz said. “Karen had been playing at a high level and she pushed me to the limit, she decided on small details.

“I will train for Friday [the semi-final]but with a lot of calm and calm, I am not going to overwhelm myself and I have to be fresh”.

In the quarterfinals of the WTA event at the Caja Mágica, Veronika Kudermetova battled third seed Jessica Pegula 6-4 0-6 6-4.

It was the seventh win of his career over a player ranked in the top five, as the 12th-seeded Russian defeated world number three American, last year’s finalist, in just over two hours.

“I feel very happy and proud of myself, because in each match I played three sets,” Kudermetova said.