Defeating but some other Spanish countryman, Carlos Alcaraz stayed on the right track to protect his identify on the Barcelona Open.
Alcaraz beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(5) 6-4 to make the semifinals on Friday.
Along with beating Roberto Bautista Agut within the quarterfinals, Alcaraz stepped forward his document towards the Spaniard to 9-1 because the get started of 2022. The handiest defeat was once towards Rafael Nadal within the Indian Wells semifinals closing 12 months.
Alcaraz broke Davidovich Fokina’s serve for the second one time within the ultimate sport to clinch the victory in additional than two hours at the Rafa Nadal heart courtroom.
Alcaraz misplaced 3 directly video games in opposition to the top of the primary set earlier than prevailing within the tiebreaker.
“It was really tough for me,” Alcaraz stated after his moment consecutive straight-set victory.
The Thirty eighth-ranked Davidovich Fokina had the shot of the fit when his drop volley in the second one set bounced again onto his aspect of the web, drawing a large smile from Alcaraz.
“The hot shot is from him today,” Alcaraz stated.
“He played really well, great shots. Probably not only the one hot shot. He made a lot of them, probably more than me. It was a really fun match.”
The second-ranked Alcaraz has a semifinal towards Twelfth-seeded Daniel Evans, who rallied to defeat Fifteenth-seeded Francisco Cerundolo 2-6 7-5 6-3.
Alcaraz is making an attempt to grow to be the primary repeat champion in Barcelona since Nadal received 3 directly titles from 2016-18.
Second-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas complex to the closing 4 with a 6-4 6-2 win over Alex de Minaur for his nineteenth win of the season — and 9th directly over the Australian in his profession.
“My patience was there. I knew that was the foundation of the match,” Tsitsipas stated.
“I am satisfied with my return game, especially towards the end. I found myself in a very good position to press early on.”
Tsitsipas will play within the semifinals towards ninth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti, who won a walkover from fourth-seeded Jannik Sinner.
“Sad to have to withdraw from my match today in Barcelona,” stated Sinner.
“I’ve been feeling unwell for a few days now. Today, the sickness got worse and I’m not able to play. I’ll take some time to rest and recover.”
Tsitsipas was once a finalist in Barcelona in 2018 and 2021, each instances shedding to Rafael Nadal.