Flawless Rublev knocks out champion Alcaraz to move into Madrid semis

MADRID, Spain : Carlos Alcaraz's hopes of becoming the first player to win three-straight Madrid Open titles came undone as the second seed fell to a 4-6 6-3 6-2 loss in front of his home crowd to Russian seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

The 20-year-old two-times grand slam champion was not at his best despite taking the opening set in 41 minutes, while Rublev put in a dominant performance to roar back and snap Alcaraz's 14-match winning streak at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

It will be Rublev's first semi-final in Madrid. The 26-year-old was on a four-match losing streak coming into the tournament.

"Maybe this week is a relief but then next week we go back to the same... so better not to think this way because when you start to think 'Oh, how good everything is' that's what happened at the beginning of the season," Rublev said.

"Then for six weeks I wasn't winning anything. It's better to not think at all. It's not bad, it's not good. It's just a moment. It happens to everyone, every player has been through these moments.

"The most important thing is to keep working and improving and then remember that one week can change anything."