Spanish tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz is optimistic about his tennis after confidently advancing into the semi-finals of the Italian Open on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jack Draper, which he described as one of his finest performances of the season to date.
In the semi-finals at the Foro Italico, third seed Alcaraz will face either reigning Rome champion Alexander Zverev or local favourite Lorenzo Musetti. They will face off in the day’s final match on centre court.
His impressive victory over Draper has kept his hopes alive for a third title this season and has elevated him to the number two in the world rankings, trailing only Jannik Sinner.
The Spaniard has also secured a top-two seeding at the upcoming French Open, which will start later this month. For now, the four-time Grand Slam champion continues to pursue his first title in Rome.
Alcaraz had to deliver his best to defeat the fifth seed Draper, who has been performing strongly on clay in Italy after losing the Madrid Open final to Casper Ruud.
Draper was aiming to become the first British man to reach the semi-finals in the Italian capital since 2016, when Andy Murray lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.
However, he lost control of the first set after initially taking a two-game lead, as he was broken twice by Alcaraz, who then seized control of the match.
Alcaraz ensured his win by saving two break points in a lengthy 10-minute game during the eighth game of the second set. He then broke Draper without conceding a point to lead 5-4 in the set and subsequently served out the match successfully on his first attempt.
