THE HAGUE: Spanish tennis superstar Carlos Alcaraz hurtled into the Rotterdam Open semifinals on Friday with a comfortable 6-2, 6-1 win over compatriot Pedro Martinez.
The world No. 1, bidding to become the first Spaniard to triumph in Rotterdam, will next face Hubert Hurkacz of Poland for a spot in Sunday’s final.
Eighth-seeded Hurkacz defeated Andrey Rublev, the Russian fourth seed, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4.
“I’m really happy with my performance today. I think I played at a really high level. No ups and downs in the match, which is something I’m really focused on,” Alcaraz said.
“It is always tough playing Pedro, so I knew I had to be really focused from the first ball to the last,” he added.
It was the first time the two Spanish players had met on the professional tour and Alcaraz showed the gulf in class between himself and Martinez, ranked 41 places below him.
He wasted no time in stamping his authority on the match, breaking the Martinez serve in the first game.
A second break followed quickly. Alcaraz wrapped up the first set with an ace.
The pattern repeated itself at the start of the second set. Martinez was the architect of his own downfall, losing his first service game with a double fault and a wild forehand.
Another unforced error from Martinez handed Alcaraz his second break of the set in the fifth game, which also featured the best rally of the match, both players covering all corners of the court.
Alcaraz wrapped up the match with yet another break, finishing off his opponent with a whipped crosscourt forehand, his 29th winner, in just over an hour.
“With every match I play, I’m improving. Hopefully, I can end up the week with the trophy,” said Alcaraz.
Earlier Friday, Stefanos Tsitsipas became the latest victim of an extraordinary run by Mattia Bellucci, as the Italian qualifier marched into the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 upset.
World No.12 Tsitsipas never got to grips with Bellucci’s left-handed serve and combination of flat backhands and heavy top-spin forehands, interspersed with well-disguised drop shots.
“At the beginning of the week, I would have never expected this result,” said Bellucci, 23, who had never before reached the semifinal of an ATP 500 event.
“I was really enjoying myself on court. Today I think I played even better, technically speaking, against a great opponent but I was in a mindset to fight for every point,” said the Italian.
Bellucci, ranked 92 in the world, had already demonstrated his giant-killing prowess by downing second seed Daniil Medvedev in the previous round.
Awaiting Bellucci in the semifinal is Australia’s Alex de Minaur, last year’s runner-up, who wasted no time in swatting aside German lucky loser Daniel Altmaier 6-1, 6-4.
