Carlos Alcaraz saw his bid for an Indian Wells three-peat go up in smoke in March, when he was ousted in a three-set semifinal by Jack Draper.
Determined to rid himself of the residue of that loss, Alcaraz struck early and often on Wednesday in Rome, tripling his Top-5 rival in the winner count, and pulling up with a 6-4, 6-4 triumph that places him in his first semifinal in the eternal city.
“The most important thing that I did today was not thinking about results at all,” Alcaraz said after his win. “Not thinking about if I was up or if I was down – just trying to do the things that make me happy on court, playing aggressive, hitting good, solid drop shots, getting to the net, that’s what I like to do on the court and I think that made the difference today.
“I played at a high rhythm and didn’t let him stay long in the rallies.”
The victory marks Alcaraz’s 11th Masters semifinal, which ties him with his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, for fourth all-time among Spanish players on the list.
In the process, Alcaraz guarantees himself the No.2 seed at Roland-Garros, ensuring himself that he won’t see Jannik Sinner until the final. He may see the Italian in Sunday’s Rome final as well, with both players on track and steaming to a potential showdown, but for now the 22-year-old Spaniard will get ready to face either Lorenzo Musetti or Alexander Zverev, who meet in Wednesday evening’s second quarterfinal at the Foro Italico.
Alcaraz took care of business against a Draper that seemed slightly fatigued on Wednesday, hitting 24 winners, including 18 off the forehand wing, as he improved to 25-2 on the clay since last May.
It was an uphill battle early for the Spaniard, who found himself down a break at 4-2 before he turned the tides. The World No.3 found ways to get into Draper’s service games from that point, as he won eight out of nine points against the British No.1’s serve to break twice consecutively for a 5-4 lead.
Serving at 5-4, 15-40 he turned up the heat and won the final four points of the set.
Alcaraz notched a third consecutive break to lead 1-0 in set two, but Draper quickly broke back. The 23-year-old Brit had three chances to take a second break across Alcaraz’s next three service games, but he could not seal the deal.
Instead it was Alcaraz breaking at love for 5-4 before serving out the match, converting his first match point to close the battle at one hour and 37 minutes.
Draper, who played the final in Madrid, drops to 22-6 on the season, but he falls to 0-5 against the Top-5 on the clay.
Still, he will head to Roland-Garros in good confidence, having won nine of 12 matches on the dirt this spring. Alcaraz is now 27-5 on the season, and 13-1 on clay, after winning the Monte-Carlo title and reaching the Barcelona final. He missed Madrid due to an adductor injury, but looks to be at 100 percent once again.
“I’m just feeling that I’m playing great tennis on clay, obviously it was a shame that I got injured after Barcelona… I’m just happy to feel the good rhythm and good tennis here again in Rome, and obviously this match gives me a lot of confidence.”