Alcaraz is already in the semifinals of Indian Wells: “Today it was about surviving”

The Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz defeated the Argentine Francisco Cerú by ensuring his pass to the semifinals of the 1000 Masters of Indian Wells (United States), where he will face the British Jack Draper.

Alcaraz needed 1 hour and 43 minutes to take the duel 6-3 and 7-6 (4). That the sixteenth victory followed by Alcaraz in the California desert, qualifying for the fourth time consecutive to the semifinals of the tournament, something that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had only achieved before.

The British Draper, his next opponent

Break a one -year drought without stepping on the end of the final in a 1000 Masters

The Murcian, number 3 in the ATP ranking and champion in 2023 and 2024, does not lose in Indian Wells from the semifinals of 2022, precisely against Nadal. At the end of the game, red marker in hand, Alcaraz wrote in the camera glass: “Should I buy a house here?” (“Should I Buy A House Here?”), A clear nod to his idyll with this tournament.

Alcaraz had a hard time finding the rhythm on the cold night in Indian Wells. Cerúndo, best Latin American ATP at the number 26 of the ranking, had six ‘break’ balls in the first three services of Murcian, but he missed them all. After suffering in these initial moments, Alcaraz won the seventh game (blank) with authority and broke the service of closing it to put the 5-3.

He only needed to defend his serve to take the first manga, displaying a series of unattainable blows for Buenos Aires. Ceru, in fact, he needed 9 break balls to finally break the service to Alcaraz. It was in the fourth point of the second manga, when the Argentine got 1-3 above.

After securing his serve with blows to those who even arrived, he extended the advantage to 1-4, dreaming already with matching the game. But that of El Palmar returned the break in the seventh game and from that moment the two tennis players focused their efforts on defending their serve, without taking too many risks.

That strategy led the set to tie-breakerthat closing it began with a double foul, a blow that would no longer rise. Alcaraz connected 23 winning blows in today’s game and made 27 united errors, but closing it had 33 united errors, for only 17 winners.

With his pass to the semifinals, Alcaraz breaks a one -year drought without stepping on the round prior to the final in a 1000 Masters, after his elimination in Miami, Madrid and Shanghai. It will be the ninth semifinal of Alcaraz in a 1,000 Masters Tournament, the same ones that Sergi Bruguera reached throughout his career, although still far from the 76 of Nadal.

Alcaraz will play its semifinal against Draper (world of the world) this Saturday; The other cross will also play on Saturday the Russian Daniil Medvedev (n.6) and the Danish Holger Rune (n.13).

The semifinals in the female team will be played tomorrow by the Belarusa Aryna Sabalenka (n.1) against the American Madison Keys (n.5) and the Pole IgA Swiatek (n.2) against the young Russian promise of 17 years Mirra Andreeva (n.11).

Carlos Alcaraz

“You can’t always play incredible tennis”

Alcaraz admitted that he did not play as well as in previous rounds in his pass to the semifinals, but said that “today it was to survive.” “I think it was today to survive, try to find a good rhythm, a good basis for the party and take advantage of the opportunities it gave me,” Alcaraz said in statements on the track after defeating 6-3 and 7-6 (4) (4) to the Argentine.
Alcaraz, number 3 in the world, said that climatic conditions in the Californian desert, with cold and wind, made it difficult to enter the game. “I didn’t hit the ball as clearly as yesterday (in the eighths) for example, but I did what I had to do, and I think it’s about,” he said.
“Tennis consists of winning. It doesn’t matter how you do, you can’t always play incredible tennis, every day or months. There are times when you simply have to get ahead with the level you have that day, ”he added.