Alcaraz stays strong to fight back against Fils, reaches Monte-Carlo semi-finals
Carlos Alcaraz beat Arthur Fils to reach the Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finals, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
Arthur Fils and Carlos Alcaraz (Chryslene Caillaud/PSNewz)
The youngest Monte-Carlo quarter-finalists since 2008 put on one of the best-ever matches at this stage, with former world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz eventually vanquishing Arthur Fils, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
In an epic match, Alcaraz came back from a set down to secure himself a place in the final four, where he will face compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Fils’ frustration at letting his lead slip showed in dramatic style as he smashed his racquet towards the close of the deciding set.
“I just wanted to stay strong,” Alcaraz said afterwards.
“His level is high right now. He puts a lot of pressure on his opponents. In some moments he just made a few mistakes and I tried to make the most of it.”
He keeps his record of never being beaten by a player younger than himself (now 6-0), and now has ten ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals to his credit, the same number as Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz hit only 18 winners, but kept himself to just 41 unforced errors, compared to 23 and 54 in each category respectively for Fils.
The Spaniard’s win means he is through to his first clay court semi-final at ATP Masters 1000 level since he won the title in Madrid back in 2023.
