Barcelona – Archyde.com
Young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz will enter the list of the top 10 ranked players in the world for the first time in his professional career when the new list is released next Monday, after defeating Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open on clay.
The 18-year-old Alcaraz withstood an uprising of the world’s fifth-ranked to ensure his fourth semi-finals this season with a 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 victory over Tsitsipas.
And when Alcaraz enters the world’s top 10 on Monday, he will do so at the same age and date after the same tournament as fellow veteran Rafael Nadal, who won 21 major titles, in 2005.
After the match, Alcaraz, who has won all three of his matches with Tsitsipas so far, said: “This is probably my best claycourt victory. She put in a great performance in a great atmosphere on the court. The atmosphere, the crowd, the level of performance you gave, the level of the match, all of that was phenomenal.”
Alcaraz confirmed that he is now confident in his ability to win the tournament after beating Tsitsipas, who won the Monte Carlo Open for the second time in a row last week.
Alcaraz will meet Australian Alex de Minaur in the semi-final later on Saturday.