By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday February 16, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz powered into the semis and remained undefeated at Buenos Aires with a straight set win over Italian Andrea Vavassori.
Photo Source: Getty
Carlos Alcaraz broke open a close clash with Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori on Friday, and raced home to a confident 7-6(1), 6-1 victory at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires.
The 2nd-ranked Spaniard improves to 6-0 lifetime on the red clay and moves within two wins of a successful title defense at Buenos Aires.
It was a tense opening set, in tricky conditions, that Alcaraz had to weather to earn his sixth win of the season.
“In the first set he played such a high level,” Alcaraz said. “It was really tough to return his serve and it was tough conditions with the wind changing directions. I played better in the second set, and his level went down a bit.”
The 20-year-old improves to 13-1 lifetime in clay-court quarterfinals, and 66-14 overall on the surface. Alcaraz often claims that he’s a better hard court player, and it may be true, but he has a higher winning percentage on clay (82.5 on clay to 73.8 percent on hard) and nearly doubles the titles (seven on clay and three on hard).
He will face either Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Nicolas Jarry in the semifinals on Saturday.
The lower-half semifinal will feature Federico Coria vs Facundo Diaz Acosta.