Carlos Alcaraz will be playing in the 2023 China Open quarterfinals after besting Lorenzo Musetti with a superb performance.
The 20-year-old came to Beijing as the top favourite at the ATP 500 tournament, and he started well in the first round against Yannick Hanfmann. However, the Spaniard wasn't happy with his level, and he said that he wanted to improve in the upcoming round.
But to do that, he needed to go level above his previous performance, as he faced Lorenzo Musetti, who managed to beat him before. And as he promised in the round before, Alcaraz delivered, as he played another incredible match to book his quarterfinal spot.
The world no. 2 started well right from the off, breaking his opponent's serve twice in his first three return games, and thanks to that, and losing no more than two points on any of his serves, Alcaraz established a really quick 5-1 lead in the opening set.
The young Spaniard then faced two break points when serving for the set, but his Italian opponent couldn't be so clinical when it mattered, and that's why the two-time Grand Slam champion won the opening set 6-2.
In the second set, the Spaniard started well again, and again, he saved Musetti's break point, to establish a one-break advantage this time around. After that, Alcaraz broke again, to once again lead 5-1, and this time around, he had no troubles finishing things off.
As a result, Alcaraz won the match 6-2, 6-2 in only one hour and 21 minutes, to set up a quarterfinal clash with Casper Ruud, who avoided a shock second-round loss against an inspired Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
The Spaniard hopes to extend his run in Beijing to have a chance to become world no. 1 again, but the run at China Open won't be sufficient to do that and the 20-year-old will have a chance to take the spot only late in the season.
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