Alcaraz Passes Coric Test For Madrid Final Berth

Twenty consecutive ATP Tour wins on Spanish soil for the 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz.

The top seed celebrated his birthday with another relentless performance in his homeland on Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, where he overcame stiff resistance from Borna Coric to complete a 6-4, 6-3 semi-final victory at the clay-court ATP Masters 1000.

Alcaraz had to be at his best to overcome a resolute display from Coric. The extra variety in the Spaniard’s game proved key to his triumph, as he frequently pulled the energetic Coric around Manolo Santana Stadium and converted four of six break points to seal victory in one hour, 41 minutes.

Having successfully defended his Barcelona crown two weeks ago, Alcaraz will bid for his fourth consecutive ATP Tour title in Spain on Sunday when he takes on Aslan Karatsev or Jan-Lennard Struff in the championship match. Should he defend the trophy at the Caja Magica, the Spaniard can return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings simply by playing a match at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia later this month.

More to follow…