Alcaraz’s Comeback Gaining Steam In Buenos Aires

Carlos Alcaraz’s comeback continues to gain steam in Buenos Aires.

The World No. 2 advanced to the Argentina Open semi-finals on Friday evening when he defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-2. The Spaniard will next face fifth seed Francisco Cerundolo or Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

“I think I played really, really well from the beginning until the last ball, the last point,” Alcaraz said. “I knew that it was going to be really, really difficult. Dusan is playing great on clay, [he is] a great player, a really tough one.”

Entering the week, Alcaraz had not played a match since last year’s Rolex Paris Masters because of an internal oblique muscle tear. But he has shown no signs of discomfort in Argentina. To the contrary, he is improving by the game.

“I had to be really, really solid from deep in the court,” Alcaraz said. “My second match of the year and I’m really happy with my performance.”

Alcaraz used a little bit of everything in the match, from impressive backhand passing shots to his typically devastating drop shots. He played his best tennis towards the end of the second set, showing enough confidence to increase the aggression against the Serbian.

Lajovic is an experienced clay-court opponent who made an ATP Masters 1000 final on the surface at the 2019 Rolex Monte Carlo Masters. But the 32-year-old was unable to find ways to make Alcaraz uncomfortable on Court Guillermo Vilas.

The top seed was not perfect in his performance, but Alcaraz used his wide range of skills and competitive spirit to apply constant pressure, winning 53 per cent of his return points and converting five of 10 break points to triumph after one hour and 34 minutes.