Alcaraz fights past De Minaur as Rune ends Ruud’s title defence
Carlos Alcaraz booked his place in the Barcelona Open semi-finals on Friday with a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Alex de Minaur, while reigning champion Casper Ruud exited the tournament after a straight-sets loss to Holger Rune.
Top seed Alcaraz, aiming for his third title in four years on the Catalan clay, twice came from a break down in the first set before settling into rhythm. The Spaniard broke De Minaur for a 4-2 lead in the second set and closed out the match to extend his winning streak in Barcelona to 13 matches.
“I started quite badly with the serve, I was struggling a little bit mentally with it,” said Alcaraz. “It was just the first few games with my serve, then I think I improved a lot. I calmed myself down and started to think positively again. It was really tight the first set. I’m glad that I ended up winning it. In the second set I just played great tennis.”
Alcaraz, who is 20-1 on clay since May 2023, will face Arthur Fils on Saturday. The Frenchman advanced after Stefanos Tsitsipas retired early in their quarter-final with an apparent back issue, trailing 2-0 in the first set.
“I was ready to battle for a few hours,” said Fils. “I wish him the best.”
Earlier, Rune ousted second seed Ruud 6-4, 6-2 to reach the last four. The Danish world number 13 will face Karen Khachanov, who beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-4, 7-5.
(Source: AFP)
