ROME, May 14: Carlos Alcaraz’s Rome rollercoaster will continue into the semi-finals at the Italian Open.
The Spaniard on Wednesday overcame Jack Draper 6-4, 6-4 at the clay ATP Masters 1000. Alcaraz rallied from 2-4 to claim the first set on Campo Centrale and let slip an early break lead in the second, but his quality shone through in the closing stages en route to a one-hour, 38-minute quarter-final triumph.
“I think the most important thing that I did today was not thinking about the shots at all,” said Alcaraz. “Not thinking about the fact that I was down, just trying to do the things that make me happy. On court I just tried to be aggressive, play good shots, drop shots, go to the net. That’s what I like to do on the court, and I think that made the difference today.
“I played such a high rhythm during the whole match that I didn’t let him dominate or stay long in the rallies. I think that was a really good win today for me, and I’m just really proud about the way I approached the match.” As well as keeping him on track for his second Masters 1000 trophy of the year (after Monte-Carlo), Alcaraz’s win against Draper also ensured he will on Monday rise above Alexander Zverev to No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings. That will also lock the 22-year-old in as the second seed for the upcoming Roland Garros, where he is the defending champion. As the second seed, Alcaraz is guaranteed to be in the opposite half of the draw to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner at the clay major.
“I just feel that I play great tennis on clay,” said Alcaraz, who also reached a final in Barcelona before missing Madrid due to an adductor injury.
Just as he had against Laslo Djere and Karen Khachanov in his previous two matches, Alcaraz produced a performance against Draper that fluctuated dramatically between streaks of shotmaking brilliance and lapses that allowed his opponent to escape from tough positions. Yet Alcaraz still found the consistency required to hold off the fifth-seeded Briton.
With his Tour-leading 28th win of 2025, Alcaraz advanced to the Rome semi-finals for the first time on his second appearance. His opponent there will be defending champion and second seed Alexander Zverev or home favourite Lorenzo Musetti.
GAUFF OVERPOWERS ANDREEVA
Coco Gauff extended her unbeaten streak against Mirra Andreeva to reach the Italian Open semifinals on Wednesday.Gauff played aggressively throughout to advance to the last four at the clay-court tournament for the third time with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win.
Both players hit high-quality shots in the tiebreaker, including Andreeva’s superb drop shot just behind the net from a tight angle that allowed her to level at 5-5 before Gauff won the last two points to seal the match.
Gauff has won all four of her matches against the 18-year-old Andreeva, having also beaten her at the French Open and U.S. Open in 2023, and two weeks ago in Madrid.
Gauff will next play the winner between No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Zheng Qinwen. Jasmine Paolini and Peyton Stearns face off in the other semifinal. (Agencies)
