Teenage sensation Carlos Alcaraz has continued his surge in form this season by producing an impressive straight sets win over third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas at the Miami Open.
The 18-year-old Spaniard battled his way to a 7-5, 6-3, victory in what was a rollercoaster tussle of high-quality play from both players. Alcaraz found himself down 2-5 in the opening set before winning seven games in a row to turn the match around in his favour. Impressively, he managed to convert seven out of his eight break point opportunities against Tsitsipas and produced a winning rate of 74% behind his first serve.
“It was tough, but fun playing in front of this crazy crowd,” said Alcaraz. “It was pretty amazing.I made a lot of energy to come back in the first set. To be able to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in front of these fans was incredible, was fun.’
“It’s tough to play against Stefanos. He pushes you to the limit. Always trying to go to the baseline, trying to hit the big shots.” He added.
Perhaps the most memorable point of Alcaraz’s latest win occurred just 10 minutes into the match when a Tsitsipas lob forced him to return the ball with a tweener shot. The Greek responded by hitting his own tweener before the youngster sealed the point with a backhand volley at the net. Prompting a huge eruption of cheers from the crowd.
The world No.16 improves his head-to-head record against Tsitsipas to 2-0 after also beating him in a five-set thriller at last year’s US Open. He has now recorded a total of five wins over top 10 opposition after also beating Jannik Sinner once and Matteo Berrettini twice.
Alcaraz improves his win-loss record for 2022 to 15-2. Heading into Miami he achieved his best-ever run at a Masters event by reaching the semi-finals at Indian Wells before losing to his idol Rafael Nadal.
Bidding to reach his second consecutive Masters 1000 semi-final, Alcaraz will next play Miomir Kecmanović in the last eight. Another player who has enjoyed a strong start to the season by winning 17 out of 23 matches played. Kecmanović battled back from a set down to beat Indian Wells champion Taylor Fritz 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, in his fourth round match.
