Alcaraz dispatches Fritz in Miami, sets mouthwatering semi-final with Jannik Sinner

Each time he steps on the court, Carlos Alcaraz seems a little more lethal than he was the last time. The precocious 19-year-old continues to make giant strides on tour and he is proving himself to be head-and-shoulders above his opposition this month, as he has reeled off ten consecutive victories at Indian Wells and Miami without the loss of a single set.

Tonight’s 6-4, 6-2 thrashing of top American Taylor Fritz allowed fans to witness yet another shining example of his shotmaking prowess at the Hard Rock Stadium on Thursday night.

He will face Jannik Sinner for a spot in the final on Friday evening.

Alcaraz fired on all cylinders from start to finish, storming the hard-hitting American at the start of each set and never yielding on serve as he cruised to victory in 78 minutes.

There were a few fleeting moments where it seemed Fritz might be able to make a contest of it. The American had break points in successive return games, with Alcaraz serving at 2-1 and 3-2 in the second set. Each time the world No 1 raised his level and remedied the situation with jaw-dropping tennis.

“I think he played the big points incredibly well tonight,” Fritz told reporters after the match. “I think all the important points of the match he won, so it made a big difference.”

Alcaraz is a player that doesn’t just shine on the big stage – he shines in the big moments as well.

The Spaniard’s ability to take the play to Fritz early in each set, as he broke the American in his first service game in both stanzas, made the night session a relatively easy march to victory.

It stands to get more difficult beneath Miami’s Friday night lights…

Sinner next – rivalry renewed

Alcaraz will face Sinner for the sixth time and the second time this month. Two weeks ago he edged out the Italian 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semi-finals at Indian Wells to improve to 3-2 lifetime against Sinner.

The pair of rising talents have captured the imagination of the tennis-watching public with some truly epic battles in the past, most notably their five hour and 15 minute epic in the quarter-finals of last year’s US Open, which saw Alcaraz save a match point and defeat Sinner, 6-3 6-7(7) 6-7(0) 7-5 6-3.

No sets dropped for Alcaraz

According to Jeu, Set et Maths, Alcaraz is the first man since ATP began record keeping in 1990 to reach the Miami semi-finals without dropping a set after winning the Indian Wells without dropping a set.

The Spaniard has dropped just 22 games in his four matches at this year’s Miami Open.

In the previous rounds of the Miami Open, the 19-year-old Spaniard beat Argentinian Facundo Bagnis (6-0, 6-2), Serb Dusan Lajovic (6-0, 7-6 (5)) and American Tommy Paul, the No 16 seed (6-4, 6-4).

Fritz, ranked No 10, won against wildcard Emilio Nava (6-4, 6-1), Canadian Denis Shapovalov, the No 24 seed (6-4, 6-4) and Dane Holger Rune, the No 7 seed (6-3, 6-4) earlier in the tournament.

Miami Masters, other last 8 results (Hard Rock Stadium, hard, USD 8.800.000, most recent results first):

• Karen Khachanov (14) beat Francisco Cerundolo (25): 6-3, 6-2
• Daniil Medvedev (4) beat Christopher Eubanks (Q): 6-3, 7-5
• Jannik Sinner beat Emil Ruusuvuori: 6-3, 6-1

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