Carlos Alcaraz closes in on world number one

The battle between the two best young tennis players in the world today has been won by Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard took a full 2 hours to defeat his opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime and win the right to enter the semi-finals of Indian Wells 2023.

In a very exciting quarter-final, two bright young stars brought a series of impressive highlights. The power, sportsmanship and ball-playing ability displayed by both on the court, kept the audience truly captivated for the entire 2 hours.

Carlos Alcaraz áp sát vị trí số một thế giới - 1 — Alcaraz is getting closer to the world number one position (Photo: GI).

"Today, my goal was to stay in the league," Alcaraz said. "I knew I would have a chance and I had to try to take it. I played probably one of my best games of the season. I'm really happy and want to keep playing."

It was Alcaraz's first win over a Top 10 opponent since he beat Casper Ruud in the 2022 US Open final. The Indian Wells runner-up will face Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals, and if he wins, he will face either Daniil Medvedev or Frances Tiafoe in the championship match.

Entering the quarter-final match, Auger-Aliassime served first. The Canadian was under great pressure as Alcaraz continued to close in with quick service wins. After failing to take advantage of five break points, Alcaraz succeeded in his sixth, breaking the game to lead 3-2. Opening the turning point in the first set, Alcaraz quickly broke away and won 6-4.

Auger-Aliassime was broken in the first game of the second set, but Alcaraz could not take advantage of the opportunity to break away, he let his opponent break in the second game (1-1). After that, the two players chased each other fiercely, Auger-Aliassime successfully saved a double break-point in the ninth game but still lost the crucial break. Alcaraz seized the opportunity to win 6-4 and close the match.

"It was the first time I broke Auger-Aliassime and I'm really proud of that," Alcaraz said of his opponent's first serve. "I tried to attack the second serve, tried to dominate, play from the back of the court and attack, take advantage of the second serve."

Carlos Alcaraz áp sát vị trí số một thế giới - 2 — Auger-Aliassime stopped at the semi-finals of Indian Wells (Photo: GI).

Alcaraz, who has a 13-9 record against Top 10 opponents, is looking to become just the second player to win at least three ATP Masters titles as a teenager, after winning Miami and Madrid last year. His compatriot Rafael Nadal has won six Masters 1000s as a teenager.

Alcaraz and Sinner are 2-2 in their head-to-head record. The Spaniard won in a record-breaking five sets in the 2022 US Open quarterfinals, en route to his first Grand Slam title.

"I'm really happy to play against Sinner again. The matches against him are great," Alcaraz said. "I enjoy playing against Sinner. I can say that it will be a really good match for all the fans watching this match and for myself as well. I will try to give my best, give 100 percent. Sinner is playing great, I will enjoy it."

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