Carlos Alcaraz extended his winning streak in Barcelona to 13 matches after he defeated Alex De Minaur 7-5 6-2.
After a tight opening set, Alcaraz turned on the style to reach the semi-finals in Barcelona and now extends his winning streak in the Spanish city to 13 matches.
It’s also a second consecutive clay court semi-final to begin the Spaniard’s road to Roland Garros in which he defends the title.
Now Alcaraz will face Stefanos Tsitsipas or Arthur Fils in the last four.
It was a tough start for Alcaraz who had to overcome an aggressive De Minaur with the Australian breaking early for a 2-1 lead.
The Australian had consolidated the break fairly comfortably but was eventually broken to love with Alcaraz levelling the opening set at 3-3.
There was a share of breaks that followed Alcaraz’s break in the sixth game as the Spaniard wasn’t authoritative or aggressive on serve which was partly credit to De Minaur’s aggressive returning.
In a tightly fought contest, Alcaraz raised his level when it mattered most and converted his second set point to claim the opening set with a break of serve in the 12th game.
The world number two’s returning onslaught continued in the second set with De Minaur saving break point in the second game.
A world-class return from Alcaraz secured the crucial break in the sixth game as the Spaniard booked his place in the semi-finals.
Next for the Spaniard is Stefanos Tsitsipas or Arthur Fils in the last four as Alcaraz bids for a third Barcelona title.
Ruud Suffers Ranking Fall After Defeat
Meanwhile, defending champion Casper Ruud is out in Barcelona after he lost 6-4 6-2 to an inspired Holger Rune.
The Dane broke on four occasions to send Ruud out of the tournament that he won last year when he defeated Tsitsipas in the final.
After the match Rune said he was happy with his performance, “It means a lot, it was a really good match today,” the Dane told the ATP website.
“I was hitting through my groundstrokes and feeling good. I played the right way and I’m very happy I was able to finish it. He made it difficult, he’s a great player. I think I played on my terms and I was really explosive, this is how I want to play.”
As a result Ruud will exit the world’s top ten with the live rankings seeing the Norwegian at 15 in the world at best.
The former two-time Roland Garros finalist will aim to earn revenge at the Masters 1000 event in Madrid which starts on the 21st of May.
