Carlos Alcaraz says he is getting better every day after dropping just five games during his fourth round match at the Cincinnati Masters.
The world No.2 eased his way past Italy’s Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4, in just 80 minutes to move into the last eight of the tournament. Alcaraz is currently on a 14-match winning streak at Masters 1000 events, having won titles in Monte Carlo and Rome earlier this year. Overall, he has won 35 out of 37 matches played since April, with his only losses being to Holger Rune in Barcelona and Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon.
“I think this match was the best so far for me in this tournament,” the Spaniard said following his win over Nardi. “At the beginning of the tournament, I just really wanted to get better every day, after every practice and every match. I think I’m doing it, which I’m really proud about. I’m just really happy with the way I felt the ball today and the way that I moved.”
During his latest clash, Alcaraz had a brief spat with the umpire (Greg Allensworth) over his water bottles. During one of the changeovers, Allensworth asked the five-time Grand Slam winner to cover the logos on his bottles because they contradicted the tournament’s sponsorship deals.
“It’s what we’ve been told,” the official was heard saying.
However, Alcaraz then argued back and refused to cover it up.
“Yeah but it wasn’t my fault,” he said. “Why would I have to cover it when it wasn’t my fault? Because it’s your fault you’re saying I have to cover it now? No, I’m not going to cover it.”
Despite the argument, it failed to derail Alcaraz’s momentum. He is only the third player to have won 14 straight matches at Masters events under the age of 23 since the format was introduced in 1990. The first two to do so were Pete Sampras and Rafael Nadal.
In the next round, Alcaraz will play Andrey Rublev, who beat Francisco Comesana 6-2, 6-3. The two clashed earlier this year at Wimbledon, where the 22-year-old lost the opening set before fighting back to win in four. He leads their head-to-head 3-1.
“It’s going to be a really complicated one,” Alcaraz said of his upcoming match during an interview with Ziggo Sport.
“I have to be ready for that. But I’m working for these kinds of matches, to play against the best ones (players).
“Wimbledon was a really tough battle so I am ready for that and looking forward to playing great tennis.”
Alcaraz is aiming to become the first Spanish player to win the Cincinnati title since Nadal in 2013.
