Madrid Keeps It Coming

Love-Love Letter #7 | April 28 - May 1

Your tennis cheat sheet — for fans who like the game, but don’t want to live on Tennis Twitter.

🌍 Where in the World Are We?

It’s been a wild last few days (no, seriously…) but we’re in the final stretch of the Madrid Open - semis for the men (Jack Draper, Lorenzo Musetti, Casper Ruud, and Francisco Cerúndolo) and finals for the women (Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka).

📌 What’s happening: 

• Play was suspended for nearly the entire day on Monday when a power outage hit Madrid along with broader Spain and Portugal. One player got stuck in an elevator, others just enjoyed time off their phones. (Anyone else weirdly a little jealous?)

• The men’s draw got busted wide open. Djokovic, Zverev, Medvedev, and Fritz all crashed out early. Alcaraz never showed up (injury). Sinner’s still sidelined (doping suspension). Translation: we’re getting zero of the usual Big Names™ in the semis.

• The usual suspects did their thing on the women’s side with Swiatek, Sabalenka, Gauff, and Svitolina all booking deep runs.

✅ Results You Should Know

Coco Gauff def. Iga Swiatek 6–1, 6–1 (WTA SF)
💡 Why it matters: Gauff absolutely routed Swiatek on her signature surface — handing Iga her worst-ever clay loss and making her cry mid-match. Gauff’s been having a flat-out rough season so far, but this week in Madrid? She’s playing lights-out.

Jack Draper def. Matteo Arnaldi 6–0, 6–4 (ATP QF)
💡 Why it matters: Drape dominated Arnaldi to reach his first clay-court Masters 1000 semi-final. This win also moves him into the ATP Top 5 for the first time — the first Brit since Andy Murray to get there.

Casper Ruud def. Daniil Medvedev 6–3, 7–5 (ATP QF)
💡 Why it matters: Ruud keeps proving he’s a problem on clay, reaching his 30th clay-court semifinal and finally notching a win over Medvedev.

🔥 Can’t-Miss Highlights

🎥 Musetti outfoxes De Minaur
Musetti uses the full arsenal of shots in this point as he beautifully (cruelly?) moved De Minaur around during his win.
▶️ Watch it here

🎥 Sabalenka just too much for Kostyuk on set point
Sabalenka’s offense - and touch - is something to behold.
▶️ Watch it here (start at 2:16) 

🎥 'Remember when tennis was easy?'
Bublik lamented to the chair umpire mid-match, while losing to Mensik, about how tennis used to be significantly less competitive. Pretty hilarious and worth a watch.
▶️ Watch it here

📆 What to Watch For - Tennis Channel/Tennis TV, 5/2

Casper Ruud [14] vs. Francisco Cerúndolo [20] (Semifinal)
🕒 Not before 10:00 AM ET
💡 Why it matters: Ruud’s clay creds vs. Cerúndolo’s swagger. Dirtballers unite.

Jack Draper [5] vs. Lorenzo Musetti [10] (Semifinal)
🕒 Not before 2:00 PM ET
💡 Why it matters: Power vs. pretty. Big serve meets big flair.

Coco Gauff vs. Aryna Sabalenka (Final)
🗓️ Saturday, May 3 – Time TBD
💡 Why it matters: Gauff’s heating up, Sabalenka’s won this twice. Fire incoming.

📰 Off-Court Happenings

Djokovic pulls out of Italian Open
Novak’s skipping Rome — his first miss since 2007. No clay wins this season, three straight losses, and retirement whispers growing louder.

Sinner returns to Rome after doping ban
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner’s back next week for his first event since the Australian Open (and that three-month doping suspension). Says he almost quit tennis — but nope, he’s back.

👗 An Outfit Worth Seeing

Coco Gauff rocking her signature clay-court season gray color
“Just a girl playing in her baby doll socks, pleated skirt, and muscles strong enough to squat your body weight,” in Gauff’s own words.