Clinical Carlitos: Alcaraz Produces Out-Of-This-World Level To Beat Zverev in Madrid
ATP
Carlos Alcaraz reached the quarter-finals at the Madrid Open again after beating Alexander Zverev in last year's final rematch.
It was the fifth meeting on the ATP Tour for the two players. Zverev managed to be the more successful player in the past, winning three of their previous four matches.
However, last year in the Madrid Open final, Alcaraz was the one who ended with the champion's trophy and he wants to do the same thing also this year.
But this time, it wasn't a final match but a battle for a spot in the quarter-finals at the ATP Masters 1000 event. Well, at least Zverev hoped it may be a battle but the teenager produced a crazy level once again to seal his spot among the last eight.
The Spaniard didn't wait around and started with a break on Zverev's first service game at the German's absolutely favorite court in the world, as he called it. He lost only two points on his serve in the first set, and after adding one more break, Alcaraz won the first set 6-1.
Fans who came to the Manolo Santana Stadium were probably hoping that the German player would start troubling their favorite, so they could witness a real battle that would last, but that never happened.
Alcaraz stayed perfect on his serve, losing only six more points in the second set, and his return also hasn't changed. He broke Zverev's serve two more times and kept painting the lines left and right.
After only one hour and 20 minutes, the young Spaniard won the match 6-1, 6-2 to secure his quarterfinal spot at the 2023 Madrid Open and keep the title defense on track.
Among the last eight, he will play against Karen Khachanov from Russia after the tenth seed stunned his good friend Andrey Rublev earlier on the day.
