MADRID (Reuters) -Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his 20th birthday by storming into the Madrid Open final with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Borna Coric on Friday to stay on track for his fourth title of the season.
In Sunday’s title clash, the top-seeded Spaniard will face off against qualifier Aslan Karatsev or lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff who will contest the other semi-final later in the day.
“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid. It’s such a special place for me. I have great memories since I came here to play Under-12s,” Alcaraz said.
“Last year it was amazing. I’ll enjoy the final and try to make all of Spain happy. I don’t think about the pressure here. I just think about playing great matches and getting good results. I enjoy every single second here.”
Alcaraz has enjoyed a spectacular start to his career, becoming the youngest man to top the world rankings after his U.S. Open win last September and has already claimed three Masters 1000 titles as a teenager.
He took a big step towards another Masters crown and stamped his credentials as one of the favourites for this month’s French Open on a warm afternoon at the Manolo Santana Stadium with six-times Roland Garros champion Bjorn Borg watching on.
World number two Alcaraz heaped the pressure on Coric in their first career meeting and faced stiff resistance from the Croatian 17th seed before drawing first blood with a searing forehand in the fifth game of a physical opening set.
After wrapping up the first set on serve, Alcaraz grabbed an early break and raced to a 4-2 lead in the next, dictating terms against a fading Coric.
He swiftly wrapped up his 28th win in 30 matches this year and celebrated by cutting a massive cake on court.
Russia’s Karatsev later plays German Struff 10 days after easing past him in the final round of qualifying.
Struff was added to the main draw after a late withdrawal and has since enjoyed a fine run highlighted by his quarter-final win over world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
