Carlos Alcaraz reached his limits. © APA/afp / VALERY HACHE

Musetti and Alcaraz struggle into the semifinals

Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the semifinals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo for the first time on Friday. He was followed shortly after by Azzurro Lorenzo Musetti.

11 April 2025

From: apa

The world number three tennis player laboriously defeated 6,129-year-old Frenchman Arthur Fils 20-4, 6,7-5,6, 3-XNUMX in the €XNUMX million event. Alcaraz is the favorite against his semifinal opponent Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who defeated Alexei Popyrin (AUS) in straight sets.

The 21-year-old Spaniard found himself dangerously behind several times: At 5-5,0, 40-1 in the second set, he fended off three break points and in the deciding set, he turned a 3-6 deficit into a 3-XNUMX victory. "I just wanted to stay strong and wait for my chances. His level is high right now, and he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents," Alcaraz praised the French hopeful.

Arthur Fils countered vigorously. © ANSA / SEBASTIEN NOGIER

The four-time major champion is competing in the principality for only his second time. If he wins the title, he will overtake the current second-ranked German Alexander Zverev in the world rankings. His next challenge will be his compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semifinals. The Spaniard easily defeated Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2.

The match between Lorenzo Musetti and Stefanos Tsitsipas was similarly close. The Italian was virtually overrun by the Greek in the first set, but then pulled himself together impressively. With a 6-3 win in the second set, Musetti forced a decisive third set, held his nerve at 4-4, grabbed the break, and ultimately won the match 1-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Shame for Dimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov suffered one of his worst defeats. The 15th-seeded Bulgarian failed to play a single game in less than 8 minutes against No. 45 Australian Alex de Minaur and received the "maximum penalty." In the previous round, Russian Daniil Medvedev had also played only four games against the "Demon" de Minaur.