Semi-finals in Madrid: Alcaraz’s defence within reach, very unusual rematch in second match

The last four tennis players remain in the Madrid Open. Alcaraz will face Croatia’s Coric on Friday. Germany’s Struff and Russia’s Karacev were up against each other for another place in the final and it was not their first match at this tennis event.

Home star Carlos Alcaraz entered his semi-final on his 20th birthday. He is within reach of defending his Madrid triumph and, together with the Barcelona tournament, his fourth consecutive Spanish title. His opponent on Friday was Croatia’s Borna Coric. Both players had lost only one set here until the semifinals.

Alcaraz – Coric

The opening of the duel brought two very long games. Just to illustrate: the aforementioned games lasted a total of 23 minutes. However, both tennis players held their serves in them. The important thing for the development of the first set came in the fifth game.

The Spanish tennis player dominated the game from the baseline and added one masterful shortening of the game. Thanks to this, he won his opponent’s serve for the first time in the match. After an hour of play, the service game came to win the set and Carlito did not falter. With a clean game, he moved the score to 6:4.

The second set brought a series of lost serves. The turning point was that the 20-year-old enjoyed two break points and the Croat only once. The end of the match came a little earlier than expected. The Croatian lost his concentration a bit in the ninth game when he sent a high ball from a volley into the net. The home player took control of the game and after 6::4, 6::3 sets became the first finalist of the prestigious tournament.

Karacev – Struff

A rematch in one tennis tournament rarely happens. Aslan Karacev and German Struff met ten days ago. They met in the final of the qualification and the Russian won 2: 0 in sets. Jan-Lennard Struff slipped into the tournament at the last minute as a lucky loser and flashed excellent results, even taking on Greece’s Tsitsipas in the quarterfinals.

The same goes for Karacev. He impressed with his performances in the first week of the Spanish tournament. In the second, he took on his compatriot Medvedev in an encore. He defeated the tournament runner-up 2-0 in sets.

He entered Friday’s semi-final as a slight favourite. The Russian literally dominated the first set after losing his serve. He won it 6:4 and achieved this mainly thanks to an excellent ratio between winning strokes and unforced errors. Specifically, 11::2.

The Vladikavkaz native was unable to follow up on these numbers. Moreover, the German showed his main weapon later in the match. After quickly gaining Karacev’s serve, he held his own with great confidence. After the first serve, he won more than 90% of the points in the second set and fairly quickly leveled the score at 1::1.

In the opening games of the third set, the Russian seemed more confident, but it was he who lost his serve first. His game was also limited by a left leg injury and Struff started to pull the longer end of the rope. The German player reached match point in the ninth game when his opponent served. The Russian still solved that, but the following serve of the German bomber did not. So the story of the defeated qualifier continues, and the final duel with the home hero will write its last chapter.

The end of the Madrid Open

Carlos Alcaraz managed to turn the Madrid Open into his own show and will be a big favourite in the final. This is despite the fact that the finalists have an even record together. Last year at Wimbledon, the Spaniard won, but a year earlier at the French Open, the German won 3:0 in sets.

Source: ATP