Tag: Carlos Alcaraz

Novak Djokovic reached his seventh French Open final in dramatic circumstances on Friday when world number one Carlos Alcaraz suffered “whole body” cramping and tension which torpedoed his challenge.

Novak Djokovic, 36, triumphed in their semi-final 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 to become the oldest man in 93 years to reach the championship match where he will be bidding for a third French Open title and record-setting 23rd men’s Grand Slam crown.

The drama on Friday unfolded just as Djokovic had levelled the third set at 1-1 with the first two sets split but with Alcaraz seemingly in the ascendancy in the sweltering 33-degree Paris heat.

Carlos Alcaraz, 16 years Djokovic’s junior, pulled up clutching his right calf.

He forfeited his next service game because he sought treatment courtside before a scheduled change of ends and could not receive a medical timeout for cramping.

As boos and jeers rained down, Djokovic, playing in his 45th Grand Slam semi-final, swept the next five games to open a two sets to one lead.

Carlos Alcaraz left the court for a five-minute bathroom break but his physical limitations easily opened the door for Djokovic to coast into his 34th Grand Slam final, having wrapped up 10 of the last 11 games of the semi-final.

“Tough luck for Carlos, the last thing you want is cramping. I feel for him and hope he recovers and comes back very soon,” said 2016 and 2021 champion Djokovic.

“Respect for him in fighting until the end. I told him at the net that he is very young and he will win this many times.”

He added: “He was the better player in the second set. I knew I had to be more aggressive and then match and better his intensity.”

Novak Djokovic will face either 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud or Alexander Zverev for a place in the French Open championship match where he will have the opportunity to become the first man to win all four Slam titles at least three times.

In just their second career meeting, and first, at a Grand Slam, Novak Djokovic made light of the age gap by breaking for a 3-1 lead, drawing Alcaraz out of position before topping off a rally with a cool backhand.

Carlos Alcaraz let slip three break points in the seventh game as his flamboyant all-court game collided head-on with Djokovic’s storied defensive wall.

In a see-saw conclusion to the first set, Alcaraz saved a set point in the eighth game and Djokovic thwarted another break point in the ninth before he pocketed the opener when the Spaniard pushed a service return wide.

Novak Djokovic required a medical timeout on his right wrist at 3-4 down in the second set and Alcaraz pounced, finally converting a break point at the sixth attempt for a 5-3 lead.

Djokovic hit back immediately as the 20-year-old Spaniard chose the wrong time to serve up his worst game of the match and a driving backhand down the line retrieved the break.

Djokovic saved three set points in the 10th game but undid the hard work in the 12th game as a wild forehand sailed long and Alcaraz levelled up the semi-final.

It was from that point that Alcaraz’s afternoon painfully unravelled.

“It was really tough for me to move at the third set, and in the fourth set let’s say I had a one percent chance,” said the US Open champion.

He admitted that facing Djokovic for the first time at a Grand Slam caused a unique tension which contributed to his physical ailment.

“The tension of the first set, the second set, it was really intense. Really good rallies, tough rallies, dropshots, sprints,” he explained.

“Novak is a legend of our sport. If someone says that he goes onto the court with no nerves playing against Novak, he lies. Of course playing a semi-final of a Grand Slam, you have a lot of nerves, but even more facing Novak. That’s the truth.”

The clash between Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz overshadowed the other semi-final of the French Open between Ruud, runner-up to Rafael Nadal in 2022, and Olympic champion Zverev who is in the last four for a third successive year.

Twelve months ago, Zverev suffered season-ending ankle ligament damage in his semi-final against Nadal.

“That was the most difficult year of my life,” said the 26-year-old German.

“I love playing tennis and the sport and competition were taken away from me. But I have been given a new chance and hopefully I can take advantage of it.”

Zverev leads Ruud 2-1 in their head-to-head match-ups but they have never met on clay.

That could prove significant as world number four Ruud boasts the best record on the surface since 2020 with 86 wins.

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Having battled through 59 encounters with Rafael Nadal over 16 years of epic rivalry, Novak Djokovic faces the Spanish legend’s heir apparent Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open in a match laced with era-defining potential.

Novak Djokovic will be playing a 45th Grand Slam semi-final on Friday; for Carlos Alcaraz, it will be just his second.

With Roger Federer retired and Nadal nursing a hip injury until next year, 36-year-old Djokovic has the responsibility of preserving the legacy of the ‘Big Three’.

“It’s definitely the biggest challenge for me,” said Novak Djokovic, chasing a third French Open title and men’s record 23rd Slam which would break the tie he currently shares with Nadal.

Friday’s showpiece will be the first time Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz have met at a Grand Slam and only the second time in their careers.

Alcaraz, then still 19, defeated the Serb from a set down in the semi-finals of the Madrid Open last year, a day after he had knocked out Nadal on the faster, higher altitude courts of the Spanish capital.

He predicted then that the “sky’s the limit” and he wasn’t far wrong, claiming a maiden Slam title at the US Open and becoming the youngest world number one.

“He carries himself very well. Brings a lot of intensity on the court. Reminds me of someone from his country that plays with a left hand,” said Djokovic of a player who is 16 years his junior but already boasts the competitive DNA of Nadal.

Djokovic has 90 career wins at French Open and is playing his 11th semi-final.

When he made his tournament debut in 2005, Carlos Alcaraz was just two but despite the age gap, Djokovic is keen to measure himself against the Spaniard for the first time at a major.

“If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. He’s definitely a guy to beat here. I’m looking forward to that,” added Djokovic, bidding to reach a seventh final in the last eight majors in which he has played.

Carlos Alcaraz fell at the quarter-finals in Paris 12 months ago while Novak Djokovic’s run ended in the semi-finals at the hands of Nadal.

The Spaniard then lost in the last 16 at Wimbledon where Djokovic was crowned champion for a seventh time.

When Alacaraz swept to his maiden Slam in New York in September, the Serb was stranded at home, banned from entering the US because of his refusal to be vaccinated.

Hopes they would meet at the Australian Open, when Djokovic collected a 10th Melbourne title, were dashed when Alcaraz pulled out with a leg injury.

“Since the draw came out, everyone was expecting this semi-final against Novak, myself as well. Since last year I really wanted to play again against Novak,” said Alcaraz.

“We are both playing a great level. It’s his 45th semi-final of a Grand Slam; this is going be my second. I would say his experience is better, but I’m not going to think about that.”

Greek world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas has had a close-up view of both men this year.

He lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open final and was swept out of Roland Garros by Alcaraz in straight sets in the quarter-final.

“Djokovic has experience; Alcaraz has legs and moves like Speedy Gonzalez,” said Tsitsipas.

“Alcaraz can hit huge, super-big shots and Djokovic prefers control over anything else, probably control and precision, to apply pressure and just make the opponent move as much as possible.”

There is also Djokovic’s famous iron will — in the five tiebreaks he has played in Paris this year, he hasn’t committed a single unforced error.

The clash between Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz has overshadowed Friday’s other semi-final between 2022 runner-up Casper Ruud and Olympic champion Alexander Zverev who is in the last four for a third successive year.

Twelve months ago, Zverev suffered season-ending ankle ligament damage in his semi-final against Nadal.

“That was the most difficult year of my life,” said the 26-year-old German.

“I love playing tennis and the sport and competition were taken away from me.”

Zverev leads Ruud 2-1 in their head-to-head match-ups but they have never met on clay.

That could prove significant as world number four Ruud boasts the best record on the surface since 2020 with 86 wins.

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Novak Djokovic closed in on a potential blockbuster French Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz after beating Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6 (7/0), 6-2, 6-4 on Tuesday to reach the last four.

Novak Djokovic, chasing a third French Open crown and record 23rd men’s Grand Slam singles title, advanced to a 45th major semi-final and his 12th at Roland Garros.

He will take on world number one Alcaraz or Stefanos Tsitsipas, the player he beat from two sets down in the 2021 final, for a place in Sunday’s championship match.

Novak Djokovic dropped his first set of the tournament but dominated the second-set tie-break against Khachanov before putting his foot down to secure a ninth win in 10 meetings with the Russian 11th seed.

“I think he was a better player for most of the first two sets,” said Djokovic.

“I was struggling to find my rhythm. I came into the match quite slow but played a perfect tie-break and from that moment onwards played a couple levels higher.

“It’s a big fight, something you expect in the quarter-finals. You’re not going to have your victories handed to you, you have to earn them.”

Novak Djokovic improved his record at Roland Garros to 90-16 after denying Khachanov his spot in a third successive Grand Slam semi-final. He will return to number one if he wins the title in Paris.

In the night session, tournament favourite Carlos Alcaraz goes up against Greek fifth seed Tsitsipas in his stiffest challenge so far.

Carlos Alcaraz has won all four past meetings — two of which have been on clay, most recently triumphing in the Barcelona Open final in April.

“We have played great matches. I won every match that we have played. But it doesn’t mean that I’m going to win every match that we play,” said Alcaraz.

Tsitsipas also reached this year’s Australian Open final, losing to Novak Djokovic, and has been steady rather than spectacular in 2023.

He is yet to win a title this season but has made serene progress through the draw in Paris, dropping just the one set in his opening round.

“Right now he’s one of the biggest obstacles and challenges for any player to compete against,” Tsitsipas said of Carlos Alcaraz. “Rivalries like this, they are the toughest thing you can get in our sport.”

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Novak Djokovic will bid to reach the French Open fourth round for a 14th consecutive year on Friday after women’s third seed Jessica Pegula was dumped out of the tournament by Elise Mertens.

Djokovic has made headlines for his comments about Kosovo this week but will be hoping his progress on Court Philippe Chatrier remains serene after two straight-sets wins so far.

He said after his second-round win over Marton Fucsovics that the message “Kosovo is the heart of Serbia” he scrawled on a camera following his opening match was “something I stand for”.

His next opponent, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, will likely provide a sterner test, though. The Spaniard has slipped to number 34 in the world rankings this season but was runner-up at the clay-court Monte Carlo Masters last year.

Two-time champion Novak Djokovic, who has reached the French Open quarter-finals in each of the past 13 years, will be the red-hot favourite.

The 36-year-old is hoping to break out of his tie with injured rival Rafael Nadal at the top of the men’s all-time list of major winners at the French Open.

Novak Djokovic is just one title behind Serena Williams‘ mark of 23 Slams and two adrift of Margaret Court’s overall record.

Djokovic has won two of his three matches with 29th seed Davidovich Fokina, but lost their last meeting in Monte Carlo 12 months ago.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz, considered the favourite and slated to meet Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals, features in the night-session match against talented Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

The 20-year-old Spaniard has defeated players ranked outside the top 100 in his first two matches.

Shapovalov is of a far higher calibre, though, despite struggling for form in recent months.

The Canadian was ranked in the top 10 less than two years ago and was a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2021.

Shapovalov is a big admirer of Alcaraz, who is bidding for a second straight Slam title after winning the 2022 US Open and missing this year’s Australian Open with injury.

“I think he’s a great guy. He’s super humble for achieving what he has at such a young age,” said the 24-year-old ahead of their night-session encounter.

“You can see how much he enjoys being on the court.”

Italian Lorenzo Sonego battled back from two sets down to knock out seventh seed Andrey Rublev and reach the last 16 for the second time.

The world number 48 was two points from defeat during a fourth-set tie-break but prevailed 5-7, 0-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 after three hours and 42 minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

Sonego will face Russian 11th seed Karen Khachanov for a possible quarter-final meeting with Djokovic.

“Incredible comeback today,” he said. “I played more aggressive than in the first and second sets because when he’s aggressive it’s tough to compete against him.”

Eleventh seed Khachanov ended Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis’ run with an entertaining 6-4, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7/5) win.

American Pegula’s hopes of a deep run in Paris were ended in comprehensive fashion by Belgian Elise Mertens.

The 28th seed cruised to a 6-1, 6-3 victory to reach the fourth round for the third time.

World number three Pegula, who only has two WTA Tour titles to her name, has still never passed the quarter-final stage of a Grand Slam tournament.

“I’m very happy to win in two sets. She’s a very good player,” said Mertens.

The former Australian Open semi-finalist will next face 2021 runner-up Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.

Aryna Sabalenka powered into the last 16 for the first time with a straight-sets win over Kamilla Rakhimova.

The Belarusian second seed is yet to drop a set in the tournament after a comfortable 6-2, 6-2 win against the world number 82.

Sabalenka is one of the favourites for the French Open title after a fine start to the year, including securing her maiden Grand Slam triumph in Melbourne and lifting the Madrid Open title.

“It’s really good to have a Grand Slam in your pocket — it gives you so much confidence,” she said.

Sabalenka will face either former US Open champion Sloane Stephens or Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva in the fourth round.

Russian Daria Kasatkina, a semi-finalist last year, raced into the second week by thrashing American Peyton Stearns 6-0, 6-1 in under an hour.

The ninth seed will face either compatriot Anna Blinkova or Elina Svitolina on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals.

Ukrainian Svitolina has reached the French Open third round on her first Grand Slam appearance since the 2022 Australian Open.

She is now on a seven-match winning run after also winning the title in Strasbourg last week, beating Blinkova in the final.

Svitolina refused to shake her Russian opponent’s hand after that match and will likely repeat that stance on Friday.

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PARIS: Novak Djokovic started his bid for a men’s record 23rd Grand Slam singles title with a straight-sets victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic in the French Open first round on Monday, as Carlos Alcaraz dazzled in his opening victory.

Two-time Roland Garros champion Djokovic held off a late rally from his American opponent on Court Philippe Chatrier to clinch a 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1) victory.

He has still not lost in his opening match of a major since the 2006 Australian Open.

“I want to dominate whoever I play against regardless of the circumstances and who is across the net, but sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” said Djokovic after kicking off his 19th consecutive French Open campaign.

The 36-year-old will face Hungarian Marton Fucsovics, who he has beaten four times in as many meetings, in the second round.

Djokovic is only seeded third at Roland Garros this year despite the absence of his great rival and 14-time winner Rafael Nadal through injury, behind world number one Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev.

He is tied with Nadal for most men’s Slam singles trophies and just one behind the 23 of Serena Williams. Margaret Court holds the all-time record of 24.

Kovacevic, the world number 114 playing in his first Grand Slam match, battled hard but could not put Djokovic under sustained pressure until it was too late.

Djokovic eased through the first two sets, before Kovacevic did break for the first time in the match to level the third set at 3-3, only to drop serve again immediately.

Djokovic uncharacteristically stumbled when serving for the match as Kovacevic forced a tie-break to the delight of the crowd.

But the world number three quickly regrouped, dominating the breaker before ending Kovacevic’s resistance on his first match point with a thumping forehand return.

– Brilliant Alcaraz –

Alcaraz began his attempt to win a second Grand Slam title in fine style against Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli, the world number 159 playing in a Grand Slam for the first time.

The top seed played some wonderful shots as he powered to a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory, despite also struggling to get over the line.

Spaniard Alcaraz is the favourite to win the title in the absence of his compatriot Nadal and is slated to meet Djokovic in the semi-finals.

The 20-year-old has enjoyed a fine clay-court season, winning the Madrid and Barcelona Opens, but did suffer a shock defeat to a player from outside the top 100 against Fabian Marozsan last time out in Rome.

There was no such slip-up on Court Suzanne Lenglen, though, as he won the first eight games of the match.

Cobolli settled and improved, even saving four match points in the third set and breaking Alcaraz when he first served for it, but eventually the sport’s new golden boy extended his record of never having lost in a Slam first round to nine appearances.

“It was not too good (the missed match points)… But I had to overcome that and forget that,” said the 20-year-old. “I played at a great level when it was 5-5 and 6-5.”

Alcaraz will next play Japan’s Taro Daniel.

– Auger-Aliassime beaten –

Canadian 10th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime suffered a third defeat at the opening hurdle in four visits to Roland Garros as he lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to Fabio Fognini.

The unpredictable Italian, who himself has lost in the first round six times in nine tournaments so far this season, pulled off a shock win on Court Simonne Mathieu.

British 14th seed Cameron Norrie came through a five-set thriller on Court Suzanne Lenglen to beat home wildcard Benoit Paire 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist will take on resurgent Frenchman Lucas Pouille for a third-round berth.

Former champion Stan Wawrinka, 38, out-fought Albert Ramos-Vinolas over four hours and 35 minutes, winning 7-6 (7/5), 6-4, 6-7 (2/7), 1-6, 6-4 to set up a clash with Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Zhang Zhizhen became the first Chinese man to win a main-draw match at the tournament since 1937 when his opponent Dusan Lajovic retired injured while trailing 6-1, 4-1.

In the women’s draw, Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina won her first match at a Slam event since the 2022 Australian Open, beating last year’s semi-finalist Martina Trevisan 6-2, 6-2.

The former world number three has recently returned to the tour following maternity leave, having previously taken a break from the sport citing health problems and mental exhaustion following Russia’s invasion of her home country.

“These kind of moments, these little wins… on a level, which is very low, but these moments bring joy to people of Ukraine,” said Svitolina.

French fifth seed Caroline Garica gave the home fans something to cheer with a 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Wang Xiyu.

Former runner-up Sloane Stephens dumped out 16th seed Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-4 and 2021 losing finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Linda Fruhvirtova 6-2, 6-2.

PARIS: Novak Djokovic could face world number one Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the French Open after both players were placed in the same half of the draw on Thursday.

Djokovic is chasing a record 23rd men’s Grand Slam title in the absence of the injured Rafael Nadal, who will miss the tournament at Roland Garros for the first time since his 2005 title-winning debut.

The third-seeded Novak Djokovic, Roland Garros champion in 2016 and 2021, meets 114th-ranked Aleksandar Kovacevic of the US in the first round in Paris — the first French Open since 1998 without Nadal or the now retired Roger Federer.

The 24-year-old Kovacevic is making his Grand Slam main draw debut.

Novak Djokovic, who turned 36 on Monday, has been bothered by a recurrence of a right elbow injury which has disrupted his clay-court season.

He failed to go beyond the last eight at any of the three events he played on clay this spring, losing his number one spot to Alcaraz.

Novak Djokovic has also fallen behind Daniil Medvedev in the rankings after the Russian succeeded him as Italian Open champion last weekend.

US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and Medvedev both start their Roland Garros campaigns against a qualifier or lucky loser.

Carlos Alcaraz faces a challenging path to a second Grand Slam title, with Lorenzo Musetti a possible last-16 foe before 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas potentially awaits him in the quarter-finals.

For Djokovic to set up a blockbuster last-four clash with Carlos Alcaraz he may need to get past Monte Carlo Masters champion Andrey Rublev in the quarters.

Casper Ruud, who was thrashed by Nadal in last year’s final, is seeded fourth and plays a qualifier in his opening match.

The in-form Holger Rune arrives in Paris at a career-high six in the world and takes on Christopher Eubanks of the US in round one.

Two-time women’s champion Iga Swiatek begins her title defence against Spain’s Cristina Bucsa, the world number 67 who was beaten by the Pole in the third round of this year’s Australian Open.

The top-ranked Swiatek, bidding to become the first back-to-back women’s champion at the French Open in 16 years, is coming off a thigh injury which forced her to retire in Rome.

She is seeded to meet 2022 runner-up Coco Gauff in the quarter-finals and could face Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, last week’s Italian Open winner, in the last four.

Rybakina has beaten Swiatek three times this season, knocking her out of the Australian Open Melbourne and Indian Wells before advancing when injury halted her rival in Rome.

Barbora Krejcikova, the 2021 winner, could await Swiatek in the last 16. The Czech lost in the first round a year ago.

“This is my favourite tournament. I always get this extra motivation to practise harder here. I’m really excited to be here,” Swiatek said during the draw ceremony.

Aryna Sabalenka, who won her maiden Grand Slam crown in Melbourne, plays Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in round one. Sabalenka has never got beyond the third round in Paris despite making at least the semi-finals at all of the other three majors.

Furthermore, her title win in Madrid this spring was followed by a first-up exit at the hands of 134th-ranked Sofia Kenin in Rome.

Third seed Jessica Pegula has a tricky opening match against fellow American and 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins, while Rybakina gets a qualifier first up.

Ons Jabeur, seeded seventh, is a potential quarter-final opponent for Rybakina, who defeated the Tunisian in the 2022 Wimbledon final. Jabeur also finished runner-up to Swiatek at the US Open.

Rybakina, a Russian-born Kazakh has yet to get past the last eight at Roland Garros.

French fifth seed Caroline Garcia meets China’s Wang Xiyu as two-time major winner Victoria Azarenka squares off with 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu in the first round.

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ROME: World number one Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock third-round defeat in the Italian Open at the hands of unheralded Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, losing 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) on Monday.

The 20-year-old Spaniard had come into the tournament on the back of wins in Barcelona and Madrid but was outplayed by Marozsan, who is ranked 135th in the world.

Marozsan, 23, won the final six points of the second-set tiebreaker to hand the US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz a wake-up call with the French Open starting in less than a fortnight.

Marozsan, who next plays Borna Coric for a place in the Italian Open quarter-finals, had not won a match on the ATP Tour prior to the tournament — indeed this is the first time he has qualified for the main draw at a tournament on the Tour.

“Everything was perfect today, I was doing my job,” the winner said. “I cannot imagine this win, even if it was my dream last night.

“I thought I might win a few games or a set.

“I tried to hit back every ball, I was trying to do my best.”

Marozsan produced 24 winners in a victory which took an hour and three quarters.

“I had hoped I could do something special,” he said. “Now I’ve just beaten the best in the sport so I’m very happy.”

Carlos Alcaraz now stands 30-3 on the season as he prepares to head to Roland Garros as top seed for the first time at a Grand Slam.

In other results at the ATP-WTA tournament, sixth seed Andrey Rublev defeated Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6 (10/8), 6-3.

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MADRID: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his 20th birthday on Friday by reaching the Madrid Open final, likening himself to “a bull” in his straight sets win over Borna Coric.

The world number two was at his best to defeat the Croatian 6-4, 6-3.

He will face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, the world number 65, who had originally been knocked out in qualifying before winning a reprieve, in Sunday’s final.

Alcaraz said he called upon some of the inner motivation which helped him triumph at the US Open in New York last year when he captured his maiden Grand Slam crown.

“There was a moment when I repeated what I repeated at the US Open, that I’m a bull, and that I could do it, and it helped me,” he explained.

Carlos Alcaraz, reaching his fourth Masters 1000 final, broke for a 3-2 lead in a tight first set and served it out.

He broke for 2-1 in the second set and after world number 20 Coric immediately hit back, did so again for a 3-2 lead, which he consolidated.

Alcaraz sealed the match with another break when Coric went long, ensuring he reached the final only dropping one set en route, against Emil Ruusuvuori.

The top seed was able to celebrate with a birthday cake, offered to him by the tournament organisers after his victory.

The only dampener for Alcaraz was news that Spanish compatriot and 22-time major winner Rafael Nadal would miss next week’s Italian Open through injury.

Nadal hasn’t played since the Australian Open in January due to a hip injury and is now a serious doubt for the French Open in three weeks’ time and where the 36-year-old has been champion on 14 occasions.

“I hope to see him at Roland Garros 100 percent. The world wants to see him at 100 percent,” said Alcaraz.

Struff, 33, made only his second career final by defeating Russia’s Aslan Karatsev who had beaten him in qualifying last weekend.

However, having been allocated a place in the main draw after injury pull-outs, Struff avenged that loss in Friday’s Madrid Open semi-final.

He came from a set down to see off 121st-ranked Karatsev 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 and become the first ‘lucky loser’ to go all the way to a Masters final.

Struff, whose only other final appearance resulted in a runner-up finish in Munich in 2021, claimed victory on a fifth match point.

He fired 37 winners including 15 aces in his two-hour 19-minute win.

“It’s amazing,” Struff said. “I played one final before in Munich but there was no crowd because of Covid.”

Struff and Carlos Alcaraz have met twice before — the German winning in straight sets at the French Open in 2021 before the flamboyant Spaniard claimed a five-setter at Wimbledon last year.

“We played an amazing match at Wimbledon and I was very close to beating him but he pulled off unbelievable shots,” Struff said.

“This is going to be different. This is in Spain, in Madrid. I think he is 20-0 on Spanish clay courts, so it is going to be very tough. I have to go for it otherwise I will have no chance.”

Struff, who upset fifth-ranked Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals, was the third lucky loser to reach the semi-finals at a Masters 1000 event, joining Thomas Johansson in Toronto in 2004 and Lucas Pouille in Rome in 2016.

The Madrid Open women’s final between the world number one Iga Swiatek and number two, Aryna Sabalenka, takes place on Saturday.

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BARCELONA: Carlos Alcaraz brushed aside Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets on Sunday to claim a second successive Barcelona title and hammer home his status as likely successor to Rafael Nadal as French Open champion.

The 19-year-old world number two won 6-3, 6-4 to bag his third trophy of 2023, after winning in Buenos Aires and Indian Wells, and the ninth of his career.

With 14-time French Open champion Nadal sidelined since January with a hip injury and world number one and two-time Roland Garros winner Novak Djokovic struggling with an elbow problem, Alcaraz reinforced his credentials as a major contender to add the clay-court Grand Slam title to the US Open he captured last year.

On Sunday, his only blip was dropping serve in the third game of the match.

From that point on, Alcaraz powered to a 79-minute triumph against the world number five, his fourth win in four meetings with the Greek.

Tsitsipas has now lost three finals in Barcelona after losing to Nadal in 2018 and 2021.

“It is incredible,” Alcaraz said. “To feel this energy and lift the trophy in Barcelona in front of my family and friends, and most members of my team are here as well.

“Playing this level and to lift the trophy in front of them is a good feeling for me.”

After Tsitsipas broke for a 2-1 lead, Alcaraz won five of the next six games to take charge.

His flamboyant shotmaking delighted his home crowd before a solitary break in the fifth game of the second set proved decisive.

“Me and my team were talking before the match about staying relaxed,” said Alcaraz who raced to the title without dropping a set.

“To want to play the tough moments, staying relaxed is the most important part for me. To forget the mistakes, and everything and be myself on court. Not to think about all the people watching, but just me, the court, the racquet and the final.”

Alcaraz now heads to the Madrid Masters where he is also defending champion.

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PARIS: Novak Djokovic returned to number one spot in ATP rankings published Monday despite missing US tournaments last month because of his lack of a Covid vaccination.

Carlos Alcaraz had taken the top ranking from Djokovic after victory in Indian Wells, but the Spaniard bowed out of the semi-finals of the Miami Open on Friday to allow the Serb back for a record 380th week as No.1.

Djokovic has a 380-point lead over Alcaraz, with Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in third, more than 1,000pts behind the leading duo.

ATP Rankings

1. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 7,160 pts (+1)
2. Carlos Alcaraz (ESP) 6,780 (-1)
3. Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) 5,770
4. Daniil Medvedev 5,150 (+1)
5. Casper Ruud (NOR) 5,005 (-1)
6. Andrey Rublev 3,470 (+1)
7. Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) 3,450 (-1)
8. Holger Rune (DEN) 3,370
9. Jannik Sinner (ITA) 3,345 (+2)
10. Taylor Fritz (USA) 3,065

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