Argentina Open 2023: Carlos Alcaraz shone with his light and is already a semi-finalist

Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, the early favorite for the title, appealed to his huge hierarchy to settle down today in the semi-finals of the Argentina Open, after defeating experienced Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-2.

Alcaraz, second in the world ATP rankings behind Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, used an hour and 33 minutes to break the resistance of Lajovic (90th in the world) in front of almost 5,000 people who filled the center court of the Buenos Aires Lawn.Tennis Club.

The 19-year-old Murcian achieved his second consecutive victory in Buenos Aires, as he was better than another Serbian, Laslo Djere (57) on Wednesday, and this Saturday he will play in the semi-finals against compatriot Bernabé Zapata Miralles (74), who eliminated the last The Argentine who remained in the tournament, Francisco Cerúndola (30th) 6-3, 6-7 (4-7) and 6-3.

Alcaraz from Murcia, cheered by the crowd since he stepped onto the center court, started the match at full speed, not giving the Serb any opportunities, and very quickly took a noticeable 3-0 lead with a service break at 2-0. .

However, the Balkan man, the old “fox” of the circuit with a thousand games behind him at the age of 32, took advantage of several oversights by the Spaniards and reached 3-2 after two points in a row.

The public is completely in favor of the “prodigy” who took over the world number one last year (he only lost it to Djokovic in January), and this gave a boost to the Spaniard, who is just playing again in Buenos Aires after an injury that kept him out of action for almost four months .

Alcaraz took the opening set 6-4 and led to victory, since he led 3-0 and 4-1 in the second quarter, and scored a forehand “winner” two meters behind the baseline, something almost impossible for the team’s other tennis players.

The Spaniard, last year’s US Open champion, for now his only Grand Slam title, defined the match 6-2 and managed to place himself among the four who will go in search of the final of the 23rd edition of the Argentina Open this Saturday. .

The only semi-final defined early was the one between the British Cameron Norrie and the surprising Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas, who defeated the Argentine Tomás Etcheverry and the Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-final matches.

The British Norrie (12), the second favorite for the title behind Alcaraz, ended the illusions of the Argentinian Etcheverry (82) and defeated him 5-7, 6-0 and 6-3.

Etcheverry, born in La Plata 23 years ago, lost to Norrie after two-and-a-half hours in a game that changed hands and had to be stopped twice by rain, a situation that ultimately hurt the Argentine.

The match that opened the quarter-final day on the central court of the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club was played in diametrically opposite weather conditions from the previous days, with a temperature of 14 degrees in contrast to the maximum of 39 from Saturday’s qualifiers to last Wednesday.

The Briton, who struggled to eliminate Argentina’s Facundo Díaz Acosta in the previous round, took extra precautions against Etcheverry, warning that he has a very powerful serve and cannot let his points slip.

Etcheverry excelled in the first set, leading 7-5, but then there was the first interruption due to rain, which lasted 40 minutes, and then Norrie was a real barrage and swept it 6-0.

The Brit took a 3-1 lead in the third set, and the match was again interrupted by rain, this time for half an hour.

When the tennis players returned to the center court of the complex located in the Buenos Aires district of Palermo, there was no room for a feat and Norrie finished with a 6-3 victory that gave him the victory.

“The first break hurt me, I couldn’t get back to the level I had, it cost me a lot and the game I controlled slipped away from me. I’m angry,” he admitted to Télam Etcheverry after a complete defeat, in a tournament that, with a place in the quarterfinals, meant him the best performance of his career.

Later, when he was expected to enjoy the talent of the Italian Musetti, the third favorite for the title, he was pleasantly surprised by the Peruvian Varillas, who showed the best game of his career and reached the semi-finals.

Rods (101) defeated Musetti 6-4, 6-4 after an hour and 46 minutes of play, with an unforgettable game.

The Peruvian, born in Lima 27 years ago, showed a very high level and for the first time in his career was among the top four at an ATP tournament.

Varillas, who came out of the qualifiers, showed his credentials when he defeated Portugal’s Joao Sousa (142) in the first round and Austrian Dominic Thiem (99) in the round of 16, to which he added another dedicated game against Musetti.

The Argentina Open, which is played on clay, will award a total of $711,600 in prize money and will unveil a new champion on Sunday, following the inauguration of Norway’s Casper Ruud in 2022.