Top seed Carlos Alcaraz progressed to the Argentina Open semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Dusan Lajovic. The 19-year-old Spaniard won 70 per cent of his first serves and 53 per cent of his return points to prevail in one hour and 33 minutes against the 90th-ranked Serb on Friday night, reports Xinhua.
It marked an impressive return to form for the world No. 2, who before this tournament had not played since early November because of an abdominal injury. "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." Alcaraz will meet Bernabe Zapata Miralles for a place in the final at stake after the latter beat Francisco Cerundolo 6-3, 6-7(4) and 6-3.
"I had to be really, really solid from deep in the court. It was just my second match of the year and I'm really happy with my performance," he added.