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Carlos Alcaraz conjured a scintillating performance against Alexander Zverev to charge into the quarter-finals at Madrid Open on Tuesday.
Alcaraz was dominant from the start in Tuesday's clash, barely putting a foot wrong in his 6-1, 6-2 triumph against the two-time champion Zverev at Manolo Santana Stadium. In an overwhelming 83-minute victory, he dropped only eight points behind serve and was a constant threat on return, breaking the German's serve four times. Stepping onto the court in search of his 18th straight ATP Tour victory on Spanish soil, Alcaraz quickly went about proving himself to the noisy home crowd. He hit the ball with power and accuracy from the first game on, putting pressure on Zverev and breaking his serve in the second and sixth games to take the first set. Zverev, who won the pair's most recent ATP Head2Head meeting at Roland Garros last year, was unable to match the 19-year-old Spaniard's level. Alcaraz won five games in a row from 1-2 in the second set, thanks to his lightning-fast mobility around the court, which allowed him to easily redirect his opponent's hard groundstrokes. The Spaniard ended with 21 wins to Zverev's nine, improving his ATP Head2Head record against the German to 2-3. Alcaraz will face Karen Khachanov in the quarter-finals in Madrid after defeating Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev 7-6(8), 6-4 earlier on Tuesday. "For me it's amazing to play the level that I played today. It's been a question mark for me... I played well, I feel really good right now and this match gives me a lot of confidence," ATP.com quoted Alcaraz as saying. "At the beginning [I felt nerves], but you have to handle [them]. The best players in the world handle the nerves really [well] and I want to be like them. Trying not to show the opponent that I'm nervous at all. I just want to enjoy playing here in the Caja Magica in front of my home crowd. It's been amazing for me to play here, so I just enjoy every moment," he added. "I will try to play this level. I will say this is my best level. I have to show that in the quarter-final, but obviously playing this match gives me a lot of confidence... Let's see what happens," said Alcaraz when asked about his quarter-final against Khachanov. (ANI)
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