Rome [Italy], May 16 : Young Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz made it to the final of the ongoing Italian Open, defeating home favourite Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinal at Rome on Friday.
Alcaraz defeated Musetti by 6-3, 7-6(4) in testing conditions during the ATP Masters 1000 event. He overcame a mid-match rise in form from his opponent and a hostile Italian crowd to march into his 25th tour-level final at 22 years of age.
After the match, Alcaraz said, as quoted by ATP's official website, "Today was a really difficult day with the conditions, the wind was tough to play with. It was not about playing brilliant, spectacular tennis. It was about playing smart tennis, playing solid, going to the point when you can, and waiting for the chance to play aggressively. I think I did that pretty well, I stayed strong mentally when things did not go to my side."
Alcaraz's record on clay surface has been incredible since last May, with 26 wins and two losses.
Last year, Alcaraz was forced to withdraw from the Masters 1000 in Madrid due to an injury, but now he is back to his best at Rome. After his tour-leading 19th victory, Alcaraz will be heading into the finals with wins in 14 out of his past 15 matches, including a title win in Monte Carlo and a runner-up finish in Barcelona last month.
With this two-hour, four-minute win, Alcaraz has tied with Stefan Edberg for the second-most wins in their first 100 matches at ATP Masters 1000 level, with a total of 77 wins and 23 losses, including six titles. At just 22, Alcaraz has made it to the finals of the six out of nine ATP Masters 1000 events.
He has improved his ATP head-to-head record with Musetti to five wins and a loss. The Spaniard could now face either Jannik Sinner or Tommy Paul in the final.
Musetti however, has something to cheer about as with wins over former champions champions Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, he has risen to a career-high number eighth in the ATP Live Rankings.