Atp tennis: Alcaraz in the semifinals in Rio de Janeiro

Carlos Alcaraz’s unbeaten run continues in 2023. After the tournament won last week in Buenos Aires, the Spaniard, number two in the world, is in the semifinals of the ATP 500 in Rio. The No. 1 seed beat the Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 7-6(0): the 19-year-old from Murcia still doesn’t impress physically, he’s not as explosive as he was in the good old days and it’s normal, given that he’s returning in South America after an injury that made him miss the Australian Open, but that’s enough. The Spaniard will have to contend with the surprise of the tournament, the Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry (Lorenzo Musetti’s executioner), who prevailed in the other quarter-final over the Argentinian Sebastian Baez (sixth seed) with a score of 6-3, 7-6 (3). The other semifinal will be played by increasingly constant clay players Cameron Norrie, seeded number 2, and Bernabe Zapata Miralles. The 27-year-old Briton beat the Bolivian Hugo Dellien 4-6 6-1 6-4, while Zapata Miralles won the Spanish derby with Albert Ramos-Vinolas, seventh favorite of the draw, 6-4 2- 6 6-4.

Blues

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Meanwhile Matteo Arnaldi and Francesco Passaro have reached the decisive round of the qualifications of the Dubai tournament, in the United Arab Emirates, which will begin next week. The 21-year-old from Sanremo, No. 110 Atp and eighth seeded of which, beat the Irishman Simon Carr, number 740 in the ranking, 7-5 6-4, in one hour and 41 minutes of play. in the draw thanks to a wild card. On Sunday Arnaldi will enter the main draw with the Czech Tomas Machac. The 22-year-old from Perugia, n. 109 Atp and seventh seeded, instead surpassed the Indian Yuki Bhambri. The last obstacle for Passaro was the winner of the match between the Chinese Zhizhen Zhang, n.92 Atp, and the Bulgarian Alexander Lazarov, n.304 in the ranking, in the draw thanks to a wild card.