BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz thrilled the home crowd by beating top-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets to advance to the semifinals of the Barcelona Open on Friday.
Alcaraz won the quarter-final 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 after beating the fifth-placed Greek five times on the outdoor clay court named after Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz, 18, is aiming for his third title of the season after winning in Rio de Janeiro in February and in Miami this month.
All of the players who reached the quarter-finals had already played third-round games earlier on Friday that were pushed back from Thursday due to rain delays.
Before facing Alcaraz, Tsitsipas took just over an hour to beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-1, 6-4. Alcaraz also beat compatriot Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-3.
Tsitispas looked finished as he led Alcaraz by one set and 4-1. He battled to equalize the youngster, but Alcaraz dominated the third set.
The teenage sensation won over the nighttime crowd with his wide array of winners, including several well-placed drop shots that Tsitispas failed to hit.
Alcaraz, ranked 11th, is guaranteed to enter the top 10 of the men’s ranking.
Alcaraz will face Alex de Minuar on Saturday after the Australian beat fourth seed Cameron Norrie 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.
Tsitsipas, who won Monte Carlo last weekend, was trying to reach his second consecutive final in Barcelona. Instead, his record against Alcaraz now stands at 0-3.
On the other side of the support, Pablo Carreno will meet Diego Schwartzman after the two returns produced.
Carreno fended off three match points in the second set and came back from a breakdown in the third to defeat second-seeded Casper Ruud 4-6, 7-6(8), 6-3, in three hours.
Schwartzman came back to beat third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
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