Carlos Alcaraz beat Borna Coric 6-4 6-3 to reach his second consecutive final on Manolo Santana Court at the Madrid Mutua Open on his 20th birthday.
Alcaraz converted four of his six break points and dropped his serve only once.
Coric saved two break points to hold with a service winner with a service winner after 12 minutes. Alcaraz did not convert his game points before facing a break point in the fourth game. Alcaraz saved it with a service winner to hold serve for 2-2.
Alcaraz forced an error from Coric in the fifth game to earn a break to 15 for 3-2. The 2022 US Open champion held serve with a drop-shot winner in the sixth game. Coric held two service games for 4-5. Alcaraz held serve at love with a forehand winner to seal the first set 6-4 in 61 minutes.
Alcaraz earned his first break in the third game of the second set, as Coric netted a backhand.
Coric pulled the break back in the fifth game with a forehand crosscourt winner to draw level to 2-2. Alcaraz broke serve at 15 in the fifth game and held serve at 15 for 4-2. The Spanish player won his service game for 5-3 before breaking for the third time on the match point at 15 to seal the second set 6-3.
“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid. It’s a special place for me and I have great memories since I came here to play as under 12. Of course, last year was amazing. Turning 20 like that is special, so I will enjoy the final here and I will try to make all of Spain happy”, said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz will defend his title on Sunday against German lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff, who came back from one set down to beat Aslan Karatsev 4-6 6-4 6-3 in 2 hours and 18 minutes in the other semifinal. The Spaniard will be seeking the 10thATP Tour title of his career.
Struff has reached the first Masters 1000 final of his career.
Struff lost to Karatsev in straight sets in the qualifying round in Madrid ten days ago and entered the main draw as a lucky loser.
Struff beat Lorenzo Sonego, Ben Shelton, Dusan Lajovic, Pedro Cachin, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Aslan Karatsev to advance to the second ATP Tour final of his career.
Struff hit 38 service winners and won just two more points than Karatsev. The German player saved five of the seven break points and converted three of his nine break points.
Both players went on serve in the first three games of the opening set. Struff earned his first break as Karatsev netted a forehand in the fourth game. Karatsev pulled back on serve after a loose volley from Struff.
Karatsev hit a forehand down the line winner in the seventh game to earn his second break for 4-3. Struff fended off a set point on his serve in the ninth game before Karatsev sealed the first set 6-4 with a hold at 15.
Struff earned a break in the second game of the second set and held serve with a service winner in the next game to open up a 3-0 lead.
Struff served out the first set at 5-3 with a hold at 15 to force the match to the decider.
Karatsev earned two break points in the second game of the third set, but he wasted them. Struff broke serve in the fifth game. Karatsev suffered from a thigh injury, but he saved four match points. Struff sealed the win on his fifth match point with a service winner at 5-4.
“I feel Aslan had some issues at the end. He was struggling with his leg, which is very unfortunate, so I wish him all the best. For me it was not so easy because I knew I had to put the ball in and be aggressive. I tried to get it done at 5-3. I managed to get it done at 5-3. I managed to stay calm, served well and went for my shots”, said Struff.
