A pumped up Carlos Alcaraz is waiting for a subpar Jannik Sinner in semis after former’s comfortable straight set win over Norwegian Casper Ruud.
Sinner booked his semifinal berth by defeating Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 but was seen clearly struggling physically in the Beijing. A worn out Sinner was pleased to secure a place in the final four given that he was not 100 percent fit while entering the contest. The Italian commented on how he got through a very tough battle in difficult circumstances and expressed his happiness over getting to the semis despite being physically drained.
“I had one game 15/40, one game 0/40 where I made some unforced errors, and he also played quite aggressively. This is tennis,” Sinner said.
“Obviously it’s easier if you take those chances… in the third set I thought I handled the situation well, especially when serving at a tough moment at 4-2. I’m very happy to be in the next round.”
The Spaniard after making a quick work of Norwegian said that beating a player of Ruud’s caliber without losing much energy is a plus and give him confidence heading towards the semifinal.
The 20-year-old will face Montreal Masters champion for a place in the final of the China Open. It will also be the first meeting since their Miami clash in which Sinner overcame Alcaraz.
Talking about his quarterfinal win over Ruud, Alcaraz expressed is delight on how he managed to execute the game plan earl on and won the tie in straight sets.
“I am very happy,” Alcaraz said. “To be able to beat a player like Casper in straight sets is really good. It means you are playing well.
“It is really tough, big rallies at the beginning of the match, but I am really happy with the level
“Being able to find solutions after the start of the first set. These kind of matches give you extra confidence.”
Alcaraz and Sinner are presently tied at 3-3 in the head-to-head but the latter has been physically compromised because of illness. The World #2 is into his 12th semifinal of the season on Monday and has bolstered his prospects of clinching the year-end No #1 crown for the second straight year.
After edging past Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the R2, the Murcia-native became the first player in the 2023 season to collect 60 tour level victories and he made it 61 by beating the #9 seed Casper Ruud. Top seed in Beijing, Alcaraz came back from a 0-3 deficit in the opener to strike Ruud with power and touch that proved too much for the latter to handle. The 2-time Grand Slam champion drilled 30 winners to secure his last four spot.