Carlos Alcaraz of Spain returns a backhand shot against Casper Ruud of Norway during the men's singles quarterfinal in the China Open tennis tournament at the Diamond Court in Beijing Monday. (AP)
Four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz will face 2022 runner-up Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals of the China Open after both secured straight-set victories on Monday. Alcaraz, the Spanish second seed, overcame Russian seventh seed Karen Khachanov 7-5, 6-2 in Beijing.
In a tense first set, Khachanov held serve at 4-4 after a prolonged game, but Alcaraz broke him at 5-5 and held his own serve to take the lead. The 21-year-old Spaniard then broke Khachanov for a 3-2 advantage in the second set, cruising to a comfortable victory. This win marked Alcaraz’s 200th tour-level win.
In the other quarter-final, Russian third seed Medvedev dispatched Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 6-4. Medvedev, who lost last year’s final to Jannik Sinner, now faces Alcaraz for the eighth time. Alcaraz leads their head-to-head 5-2, including their most recent meeting in the Wimbledon semi-finals, where Alcaraz went on to defeat Novak Djokovic for the title.
