Elena Rybakina made a second-round exit from the Madrid Open as a difficult start to the clay campaign continued for the Australian Open runner-up and Indian Wells champion.
After abandoning a last-16 clash with Beatriz Haddad Maia last week in Stuttgart due to a back injury, this time Rybakina lasted the distance against Anna Kalinskaya but suffered a 7-5 4-6 6-2 defeat. She had benefitted from a first-round bye but was found wanting on Friday.
World number 60 Kalinskaya got the better of the seventh-ranked Rybakina in two hours and 13 minutes, avenging a defeat at the same stage in Miami last month to her fellow Moscow-born player.
Iga Swiatek made no such mistake in her opening match, after also receiving a first-round bye, with the world number one posting a 6-3 6-2 win over Austria's Julia Grabher.
Swiatek led by an early break in the second set but was broken back; however, she was soon back in the ascendancy and made sure of a place in the last-32 stage of a tournament she elected to miss last year due to a minor injury.
Third seed Jessica Pegula was tested by Poland's Magdalena Frech, but the American came through 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in an hour and 41 minutes. Pegula was runner-up to Ons Jabeur in last year's final.
Pegula's fellow US player, Alycia Parks, continued to catch the eye as the 22-year-old ousted 15th seed Victoria Azarenka, defeating the former world number one 6-2 7-6 (7-5).
Parks, who has rocketed from 150th in the rankings last November to 40th place on that list, now holds a 4-1 career winning record against opponents ranked inside the WTA's top 20.
Former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, seeded 11th, was tested by Danka Kovinic before powering through a deciding set to win 6-3 4-6 6-0 against the Montenegrin.
Eugenie Bouchard, meanwhile, was no match for Martina Trevisan, with the Italian running out a 6-2 7-5 winner from a clash with Canada's former Wimbledon runner-up.
Anastasia Potapova, Ekaterina Alexandrova, Daria Kasatkina, Veronika Kudermetova and Bernarda Pera were among other seeded winners as the last-32 line-up took shape, but 25th seed Jil Teichmann was beaten, going down 3-6 6-2 6-4 to Lesia Tsurenko.
Alcaraz withdraws from Italian Open, Rublev to meet Auger Aliassime in Madrid
Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from next week's Italian Open due to the arm injury that troubled him at the Madrid Open, where Andrey Rublev and Felix Auger Aliassime will face off in Sunday's final.
Alcaraz saw his bid for a third successive Madrid Open crown halted by Rublev in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, the Spaniard being pegged back after taking the opening set in a 4-6 6-3 6-2 loss.
The two-time grand slam champion – who had won his previous 24 matches at Spanish clay-court events – looked tired throughout that match and has now withdrawn from next week's ATP 1000 Masters event in Rome.
In a post to X, Alcaraz wrote: "I felt pain after playing in Madrid, discomfort in my arm.
"Today I had some tests and I have muscle edema in the pronator teres, a consequence of my last injury. Unfortunately I won't be able to play in Rome. I need rest to recover and be able to play 100 per cent pain-free."
Alcaraz only has limited time to recover if he is to feature at the year's second major, with the French Open due to begin on May 20.
Alcaraz's conqueror Rublev advanced to the final of the Madrid event on Friday, producing a commanding performance to beat American Taylor Fritz 6-4 6-3 in the last four.
Rublev entered the Madrid Open on a run of four straight losses, but he is now into his third ATP Masters 1000 final since the start of 2023 – a tally only bettered by Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev (four apiece).
His opponent in Sunday's showpiece match will be Auger Aliassime, who progressed by virtue of a walkover on Friday after semi-final opponent Jiri Lehecka was forced to retire through injury.
Lehecka left the court for treatment on a back injury after just six games, with Auger Aliassime having held serve for 3-3. He only managed to play three further points on his return before calling the match to a halt in a disappointing ending to the night session.
Data Debrief: Lucky Auger Aliassime
Auger Aliassime would surely have preferred to win his semi-final the traditional way, but the Canadian should be fresh for Sunday's final after spending very limited time on court.
He has progressed through three rounds at this year's Madrid Open courtesy of a retirement or walkover, with Jakub Mensik and Jannik Sinner also stricken.
He is the first player since 1990 to progress through three rounds via retirement or walkover at a single ATP Masters event.
Sabalenka sets up Swiatek rematch at Madrid Open
Aryna Sabalenka will face Iga Swiatek in the Madrid Open final for the second year running after beating Elena Rybakina 1-6 7-5 7-6 (7-5) in a semi-final classic on Thursday.
Fourth seed Rybakina made a flying start and took the opener within just 25 minutes, but Sabalenka hit back in a topsy-turvy second set featuring five breaks of serve to force a decider.
Both players were imperious on their own serve from there, with a tie-break required to split them. Sabalenka's power looked likely to overwhelm Rybakina as she raced into a 5-1 lead, but the former Wimbledon champion clung on by saving two match points on her own serve.
Sabalenka would not be denied third time around, though, a huge serve giving Rybakina no chance as the defending champion teed up a rematch with Swiatek, who she beat in the Spanish capital in last year's showpiece match.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka's unwanted record
Sabalenka has dropped 60 games at this year's Madrid Open. That makes her the player with the most games dropped en route to reaching the final since the tournament's inception in 2009.
The world number two had to dig deep in a match which saw Rybakina win more total points (99 to 95), but she will not mind one bit if she goes on to capture a third Madrid Open title on Saturday.
Lehecka into maiden Masters semi-final after Medvedev retires hurt
Jiri Lehecka progressed to the first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of his career as Daniil Medvedev retired hurt on Thursday at the Madrid Open.
Lehecka, who beat the great Rafael Nadal in the last 16, had just taken the first set 6-4 when Medvedev threw in the towel.
Medvedev had earlier received treatment from the physio, having seemingly struggled when moving to his right side.
"It's never easy in a match like this," Lehecka said. "If I were to choose the way how to win this match, it wouldn't be like that.
"So of course, it's never easy to see your opponent struggling, but at that moment, you just need to focus on yourself, trying to get the maximum level out of yourself."
Lehecka will face Felix Auger-Aliassime, who progressed thanks to a walkover following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal, for a place in the final.
Data Debrief: Czech mates
Lehecka is the third Czech player to reach the semi-finals in Madrid, following Jiri Vovak and Tomas Berdych.
Should Lehecka reach the final, he will move into the top 20 of the ATP rankings for the first time.
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