Alcaraz punishes Khachanov and advances to semi-finals

Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed, won against Russian Karen Khachanov, the No 7 seed, 6-0, 6-2 to move into the semi-finals of the Hamburg Open at Am Rothenbaum on Friday evening. Only 69 minutes were needed to punish the No26 at the ATP ranking.

Alcaraz only lost 10 points in the first set and lead 10-1 in the winners.

Ranked No 6, the 9-year-old Spaniard will face the winner of the last quarter final, between Slovak Alex Molcan and Croat Borna Coric.

That’s by far the best match by Alcaraz since he came back on clay after Wimbledon. He edged out German wildcard Nicola Kuhn (3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (3)) and beat Serb Filip Krajinovic (7-6 (4), 6-3) before this quarter-final.

Khachanov, ranked No 26, edged out German wildcard Jan-Lennard Struff (3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (2)) and defeated Italian Fabio Fognini (6-3, 7-5).

Lorenzo Musetti and Francisco Cerundolo are the other players qualified for the semi-finals. They will meet on Saturday.

Hamburg ATP 500, other quarter finale (Am Rothenbaum, clay, EUR 1.911.620, most recent results first):

• Alex Molcan vs. Borna Coric : Friday
• Lorenzo Musetti beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina: 6-4, 6-3
• Francisco Cerundolo beat Aslan Karatsev: 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4)