Carlos Alcaraz continued his sensational start to his career by advancing to the Madrid Open final with a straight-sets victory over Borna Coric.
The defending champion celebrated his 20th birthday in style, defeating the Croatian 6-4 6-3 to stay on course for his fourth title of the season. Alcaraz will face Jan-Lennard Struff in the final, after the German battled from a set down to beat qualifier Aslan Karatsev 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the other semi-final.
The Spaniard has already won three Masters 1000 titles as a teenager and is the youngest man to top the world rankings after his US Open win last September. He is now one win away from another Masters crown and has cemented his position as one of the favourites for this month’s French Open.
Six-times Roland Garros champion Bjorn Borg was in attendance to witness Alcaraz’s victory.
In a post-match interview, Alcaraz expressed his delight at playing another final in Madrid and said he would try to make all of Spain happy. He added that he does not think about the pressure and just focuses on playing great matches and getting good results. The world number two cut a massive cake on court to celebrate his win.
Meanwhile, lucky loser Struff continued his fairytale run in Madrid by reaching his second ATP final. The German defeated Karatsev in a tough three-set encounter, which saw the Russian struggle with a leg issue towards the end of the match. Struff will now face Alcaraz in the final and bid for his first ATP title.
In the women’s final, world number one Iga Swiatek will face Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.
