It took the Spanish world No 2 more than two hours to navigate his opening match against Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori last week. But in a repeat of last year’s final against Alexander Zverev, Alcaraz effectively secured victory in 11 minutes and four seconds, the time it took for him to snatch an early lead as the Olympic champion screwed a forehand wide to concede the first break.

Admittedly the match still had more than an hour left to run at that stage, but it was Alcaraz’s intensity and opportunism, after Zverev had twice double-faulted, that created the platform for the dominant victory that followed. 

All the same, it was hard to know what to make of the 19-year-old’s 6-1, 6-2 win. On the one hand, he is looking more assured with each passing round. Having struggled to get past Ruusuvuori, Alcaraz delivered a more accomplished performance to see off Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets. His dismissal of Zverev was ruthlessly efficient. 

Yet the contest was also notable for the relative absence of the kind of highlights-reel moments that so often define Alcaraz’s best performances. Aside from a stunning backhand winner and some sudden and violent injections of extra pace on the forehand, Alcaraz was more often solid than spectacular. Was that down to excellence on his part, or a below-par showing from Zverev? Probably a little of both, although Alcaraz was understandably delighted with the result, describing his display as one of the best of his career. 

“For me, it’s amazing to play the level that I played today,” said the US Open champion, who will face Karen Khachanov for a place in the last four on Wednesday. 

“It’s been a question mark for me. This result doesn’t [feel] normal for me. 

“I just want to enjoy playing here in the Caja Mágica in front of my home crowd.

“I will try to play this level – I will say this is my best level. I have to show that in the quarter-final, but obviously playing this match gives me a lot of confidence.”    

Zverev, who came away with one less game than he managed against the 19-year-old this time last year, offered a slightly different perspective. The 26-year-old, who is set to drop out of the top 20 for the first time in six years as he continues his comeback from the devastating ankle injury he suffered at Roland Garros last summer, hailed the quality of his opponent but acknowledged that the road to recovering the kind of form that has twice seen him crowned champion in Madrid will be a bumpy one.

“It’s gonna be a process with ups and downs,” Zverev, who was ranked second and playing the finest tennis of his career this time last year, wrote on social media. 

“[Alcaraz] is one of the best players in the world and is on a different level to me at the moment.”

Daniil Medvedev, the second seed, endured a similar chastening experience against his Russian compatriot Aslan Karatsev, slipping to a 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 defeat against the former Australian Open semi-finalist. Unhappy to be scheduled in the relatively cramped confines of Aranxta Sanchez Stadium rather than on Manolo Santana, where he is better able to adopt his preferred return position deep behind the baseline, Medvedev complained long and hard to the match supervisor. 

“I don’t understand why, in the fourth round of a Masters, I am disadvantaged,” said Medvedev, who also expressed dissatisfaction about the shadow eclipsing part of the court.  

“Why do I have this disadvantage when I am No 2 [seed]? I don’t understand. It’s a little bit strange, right?”

It was a strange day all round for the top-ranked Russians, with Andrey Rublev, champion on the clay courts of Monte Carlo and a finalist in Banja Luka last month, beaten 7-6 (10-8), 6-4 by Khachanov. Rublev, the fifth seed, held two set points against his good friend and doubles partner in the first-set tiebreak, but was unable to capitalise.

Meanwhile, Zhang Zhizhen continued his remarkable run in the Spanish capital, recovering from a set and a break down and saving three match points to defeat Taylor Fritz, the eighth seed, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (10-8). It was a third high-profile scalp for the 99th-ranked Zhang, who came from behind to see off Cameron Norrie, the British 11th seed, and Denis Shapovalov, seeded 21, in the previous two rounds. Zhang, who had never previously won a match at this level, is the first Chinese man to reach the last eight at a Masters 1000 event. He will play Karatsev, also a first-time quarter-finalist at this level, for a place in the last four.

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