Carlos Alcaraz proved his composure and grit once more on Friday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, where he sealed his spot in the championship match.
The 22-year-old Spaniard earned a statement 6-3, 7-6(4) semi-final triumph over home favourite Lorenzo Musetti amid testing conditions at the ATP Masters 1000. Alcaraz tamed a mid-match rise in form from Musetti, as well as windy conditions and a boisterous Italian crowd to surge into his 25th tour-level final.
“Today was a really difficult day with the conditions, the wind was tough to play with,” said Alcaraz, who is now 26-2 on clay since last May. “It wasn’t about playing brilliant, spectacular tennis. It was about playing smart tennis, playing solid, going to the point when you can, and waiting for the chance to play aggressively. I think I did that pretty well, I stayed strong mentally when things didn’t go to my side.”
Alcaraz was forced to withdraw from the Masters 1000 in Madrid due to an adductor injury, and he appears to be back near his blistering best in Rome. After recording a Tour-leading 19th win of the season, the 22-year-old will go into Sunday’s final having won 14 of his past 15 matches, including a run to the title in Monte-Carlo and the final in Barcelona last month.
With his two-hour, four-minute victory, Alcaraz tied Stefan Edberg for the second-most wins in their first 100 matches at ATP Masters 1000 level (since the series’ introduction in 1990). The Spaniard now boasts a 77-23 record at this level, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, including six titles. At just 22 years of age, Alcaraz has now already reached finals at six of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events.
After also defeating Musetti in the Monte-Carlo final, Alcaraz now leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 5-1. The Spaniard awaits a championship-match clash with World No. 1 Jannik Sinner or American Tommy Paul.
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