Alcaraz delighted with ‘perfect match’ to reach Rotterdam SFs

Carlos Alcaraz reached his first ATP Tour semi-final of the season on Friday at the ABN AMRO Open, where he overcame Spaniard Pedro Martinez 6-2, 6-1 to maintain his impressive record against countrymen.

After being pushed to three sets against Botic van de Zandschulp on his debut in Rotterdam, Alcaraz dispatched Andrea Vavassori for just the loss of three games in the second round.

The 21-year-old built on that clinical win with a comprehensive display against Martinez, who was pulled from side to side for the majority of the 71-minute clash.

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“I played really good tennis today, a really high level. And I have done the right things again,” Alcaraz said. “I was really focused before the match, on my things, on my own tennis. I tried to put everything in today. Being aggressive, pushing him to the limit every point. I think I did the perfect match and I am happy to keep improving every day. Hopefully in the semi-finals I will be even better.”

Alcaraz has now won his past 12 matches against countrymen and is the fourth Spaniard to reach the last four at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam, joining coach Juan Carlos Ferrero (2004), Rafael Nadal (09’) and Pablo Carreno Busta (’20).

Chasing his first title since Beijing in October, the top seed will meet Pole Hubert Hurkacz or 2021 Rotterdam champion Andrey Rublev on Saturday evening in his 33rd tour-level semi-final.

Martinez was aiming to advance to his first tour-level semi-final in his fifth attempt. However, he was unable to cope with Alcaraz’s power in front of a capacity crowd in the Ahoy Arena. Alcaraz fired 17 winners in the first set according to Infosys ATP Stats and did not face a break point in the pair’s first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

The 27-year-old Martinez defeated Roberto Bautista Agut and Holger Rune this week and is up to No. 40 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.