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Spanish tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz is just one step away from his maiden indoor title, as he secured a win over Hubert Hurkacz in the semifinal of the ongoing Rotterdam Open on Saturday night.
Alcaraz delivered a performance full of gems worth replaying, with a scoreline of 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-3. Now, he will be meeting Alex de Minaur in the title clash. Alcaraz managed to save three break points, avoiding a double break deficit and won the first set and the decider in an entertaining two-hour, 21-minute win, as per the ATP official website. "Great level, great match, that is all I could say. In that moment (at the end of the match) he was a bit tired. I know his frustrations at the end of the match, so I could not say so much about it. I am just really happy. I think we both played at such a high level, for the people as well. It was a great match," said Alcaraz. Alcaraz, who has secured 16 tour-level titles across hard, clay and grass courts is just a win away from his indoor title which will boost his all-round game credentials heavily. De Minaur, his opponent in the title clash, ended the dream run of qualifier Mattia Bellucci with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in the semifinal. Hurkackz made a fine start to the semifinal clash and was on serve early. He struck the ball cleanly off both wings, holding three points for a double-break lead at 4-1, 0/40. From there on, Alcaraz changed the game in the first set with some high-quality tennis and all-court points. He won five successive games to secure the first set. After the first setback, Hurkackz was trailing 15/40 in the opening game of the second set, but he held his nerves to take the set into a tie-breaker. In the tie-break, Alcaraz earned the first minibreak of 5/4 but lost his advantage with a double fault. Taking his chance, Hurkackz secured the second set, setting up an exciting decider. Alcaraz was dominant in the final set, winning 12 of 13 points, earning a 3-0 lead and his opponent could barely afford some space to breathe. Alcaraz wrapped up a win after saving five of six break points he faced. "I was a bit in trouble, I guess," said Alcaraz of his deficit in the first set. "I just felt every ball until the end. That's all I was thinking about, and I knew that I was going to have my chances." "His level at that time was unbelievable, really high, so I knew that it was about time. So I am really happy to have been able to fight every ball and to save the breakpoints that I had to [save] to not be 1-5 down. I am just happy to be able to do it and in the end, it paid off," he added. In his first tour-level final since his epic win over Jannik Sinner last October in Beijing, Alcaraz would be aiming to become the first-ever Spaniard to secure the Rotterdam Open trophy since 1974. He is having a fine record of 8-1 this season, starting his season with a quarterfinal finish at Australian Open. On the other hand, De Minaur improved his record to 13-4 at Rotterdam, where he experienced a heartbreaking loss to Sinner in the final last year. Bellucci this time around was unable to match the intensity of his opponent in his maiden ATP Tour semifinal. (ANI)
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