Madrid QF previews and predictions: Alcaraz vs. Khachanov, Coric vs. Altmaier

Plenty of other seeds have taken a tumble in Madrid, but Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t come close to losing as he heads into quarterfinal action against Karen Khachanov on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Borna Coric is facing Daniel Altmaier.

(1) Carlos Alcaraz vs. (10) Karen Khachanov

There doesn’t seem to be any stopping Alcaraz at the Mutua Madrid Open. The top seed dropped his opening set to Emil Ruusuvuori, but since then it has been one-way traffic for him. He defeated Ruusuvuori 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, erased Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 7-5, and in a rematch of the 2022 Madrid final trounced Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2. Alcaraz is now 26-2 this season and 9-1 lifetime at the Madrid Masters–with a loss only to Rafael Nadal in 2021.

Up next for the 19-year-old Spaniard on Wednesday afternoon is Khachanov, who trails the head-to-head series 2-0 and has never managed to be competitive. Alcaraz cruised 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 last spring at Roland Garros and 6-0, 6-2 a couple of months later on the red clay of Hamburg. Khachanov did well to upset fellow Russian and doubles partner Andrey Rublev in the Madrid fourth round, but he has been past the quarterfinals of only two tournaments this season. There is no reason to think he will give Alcaraz any serious trouble.

Pick: Alcaraz in 2

(LL) Daniel Altmaier vs. (17) Borna Coric

A shocking quarterfinal matchup pits Coric against Altmaier on Wednesday night. Altmaier’s appearance at this stage of a Masters 1000 is obviously more unexpected than Coric’s, but even the Croat had been in terrible form before arriving Madrid. He had won only three matches at ATP tournaments in 2023 prior to this week, but it has all turned around for him with victories over Hugo Gaston, Hubert Hurkacz, and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Altmaier not only got a lucky-loser spot in the main draw, but he also went straight to the second round because Pablo Carreno Busta withdrew and had a bye as a seed. The 92nd-ranked German has parlayed his good fortune into wins over Oscar Otte, Yannick Hanfmann, and Jaume Munar. That is not exactly a stout level of competition, so a big step up in the form of Coric will likely signal the end for Altmaier. Still, Coric may have to get the job done in straight sets because he is coming off a taxing three-hour and 28-minute struggle against Davidovich Fokina.

Pick: Coric in 2