Madrid Open: Anastasia Potapova becomes first lucky loser to reach WTA 1000 semi-finals

Meanwhile, in the men’s tournament, world number one Ciner reached the semifinals in Madrid for the first time.

The Italian beat 19-year-old Rafael Zodar 6-2 7-6 (7-0) in just shy of two hours.

He is bidding for his fifth consecutive ATP Masters 1000 title, winning in Paris late last year, and has already won the Indian Wells, Miami Open and Monte Carlo titles in 2026.

But the four-time Grand Slam champion was made to work in the quarter-finals as Madrid-born Jodar showed why there are so many hopes for what he can achieve in years to come when he went toe-to-toe with Ciner in the second set.

“Tough challenge, I knew before the match that it would be very difficult to beat him, especially here, he’s from here and he knows how to play in these conditions,” Sinar told Sky Sports.

Ciner quickly took control, saving a break point before going down 2-1 in five straight games to win the first set.

The second was much more closely contested, although Jodar earned break points at 3-2 and 4-3. But each time Cena held firm.

Jodar himself saved three break points to go 5-4 up and held serve again to secure at least one tiebreak.

But Cenaar showed his class, quickly holding to love before delivering a masterclass on the breaker, winning without dropping a point.

“I got a bit more experience and got a bit lucky at times with some lines and net cords in the second set,” he added.

“But I tried to stay as high as possible… I’m happy with the way I finished the match.

“(Jodar) is an incredible player. Spain has another incredible player so it’s great to play.”

Cena will face France’s Arthur Fils or Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehka in the semi-finals.