Carlos Alcaraz will be absent from the Madrid Open this week, but Spanish interest remains high thanks to Martin Landaluce, a 20-year-old wildcard who has just broken into the world’s top 100. “We are a huge family, like 30 or 40 cousins, and many of them live in Madrid,” Landaluce said, grinning as he anticipates returning to the Caja Mágica in his home city.
Landaluce, a former US Open junior champion in 2022, arrives in Madrid after a breakthrough performance at the Miami Open, where he became the lowest-ranked quarter-finalist in 32 years. Starting as world No 151, he beat top-20 players Luciano Darderi and Karen Khachanov, and saved match point against Sebastian Korda. “In Miami, I connected everything,” he said. “For many years I was saying, ‘I know my level is good…’ But I said, ‘OK, I want it now.’”
The 6’4” blonde-haired Spaniard has trained at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Manacor since age 14, drawn by watching Nadal at Roland Garros. He recalls sharing a court with his idol: “It was a shock.” Nadal recently sent a voice note praising Landaluce’s quarter-final run, telling him “this is only the beginning.”
Landaluce also practises with Alcaraz, who invited him to Murcia ahead of the clay season. “He’s had all this pressure since he’s 16,” Landaluce said. “He’s a very nice guy, very humble, and we all try to take little things from him to grow as fast as he did.” With his father urging him to make “the big jump”, Landaluce is ready to prove his worth in Madrid.
