Alcaraz Sets Up Sinner Clash In Paris
Carlos Alcaraz, the youngest player at the Rolex Paris Masters, extended his run of good form on Tuesday with a hard-fought comeback win over wild card Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
The 18-year-old Spaniard let slip a 4-2 lead in the first set, but regained the momentum when he clinched six straight points in the second-set tie-break en route to a 7-6(4), 6-7(2), 7-5 victory over two hours and 53 minutes.
Alcaraz will next challenge fellow #NextGenATP and eighth-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner, who is attempting to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 14-21 November. Alcaraz beat Sinner 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in an ATP Challenger Tour event in Alicante in April 2019.
[FOLLOW 1000]Herbert converted the 57-minute opener with a forehand approach winner on his third set point opportunity, but in the second-set tie-break saw a 2/0 lead evaporate as Alcaraz won 11 of the next 12 points.
Alcaraz fought off two break points at 1-1 in the decider and was later gifted a 4-2 advantage, courtesy of a Herbert double fault. The Frenchman broke back to love, with his best game of the match, and delivered again at 5-6, when he saved two match points, just as Alcaraz’s groundstroke power was earning rewards. The match ended with consecutive double faults.
Having come into the 2021 season with just one tour-level win, Alcaraz lifted his first ATP Tour title at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag (d. Gasquet) in July. Five weeks later, he became the youngest US Open quarter-finalist in the Open Era after an inspired run that included a third-round upset of Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The World No. 35, who has compiled a 26-16 match record this year, will compete at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, to be held in Milan from 9-13 November. Last week, he reached the Erste Bank Open semi-finals in Vienna (l. to Zverev).