The Spanish Carlos Alcaraz will play the semifinals of the Miami Open against the Italian Jannik Sinnerafter imposing himself very forcefully this Thursday to Taylor Fritz in two sets by 6-4 and 6-2in one hour and 17 minutes.
Both tennis players arrived without having lost a single set in the entire tournament, in which it was their first confrontation. The Spaniard is two steps away from maintaining the number one in the world and revalidating the title in Florida. Fritz repeats his best record in Miami, the quarterfinals, one more year without being able to reach the semifinals of the tournament.
The start of the game was forceful by Alcaraz, breaking Fritz’s serve in his first game and winning his to quickly go up 2-0. The message was already sent, the Murcian went with everything. Carlos himself defined his start to the game: “I am very happy with the way I started, without making mistakes and with a lot of energy.” Fritz, to win his first game, had to go up to five times for forty equals and play Alcaraz for nine minutes. The North American was forced to execute up to twenty services. Since then, each one has prevailed in his service, but knowing how to solve moments of complication. Like the break ball that Alcaraz saved in the sixth or Fritz’s authority shot in the ninth to make it 5-4 in less than a minute. He ended up securing the one from El Palmar his last service for the 6-4, closing the first set in 46 minutes and getting Taylor Fritz to lose a set in Miami for the first time.
The second set began as the first ended. Alcaraz won nine balls in a row to finish off the first and start the second. They served him to start by breaking Fritz’s serve. Alcaraz’s second break came with a Fritz who was already beginning to be desperate, making inappropriate mistakes for him, second fouls and the difficulty of not knowing how to hurt the Spaniard. With the 5-2 already in the light, Alcaraz solved it on the fast track: blank game and passport to the semifinals at full speed. The second set lasted just 21 minutesafter which they start less than 24 hours of recovery before facing the semifinals.
With this victory, Alcaraz adds ten consecutive victories without losing a single set. Alcaraz’s romance with the Hard Rock Stadium and the city of Miami continues, as he stated in his statements on the track and in his signature on camera: ‘Semis again, I love you Miami’. So far, only rain has stopped Alcaraz in Miami. The Italian Jannik Sinner will be his next step to reach the grand final on Sunday.
The year 2023 continues to smile at El Palmar: there are 18 victories and only one defeat. In addition, with the victory over Fritz he already reaches a statistic of 3-0, undefeated, against players in the Top 10 ranking. It will be the sixth time that the Spanish and the Italian have met with a balance so far of 3-2 for Alcaraz. It will be this Friday the 31st at seven in the afternoon, local time.
