Carlos Alcaraz, who had his first contact with the ANB Arena in Riyadh on Wednesday, already knows that his first opponent in the semifinals of the ‘Six Kings Slam’ will be Taylor Fritz. The American defeated Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 6-4. The other match will be played between Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas. The winner will face Novak Djokovic.
The statistics do not lie and it is a fact that Fritz has the measure of the German. He had won the last six meetings between the two. He added his seventh consecutive victory with relative ease, supported by his good form and Sascha’s physical problems with his back, which he spoke openly about after bowing out of the Shanghai Masters 1000 in the third round against Arthur Rinderknech.
Fritz, the world number four
Taylor, the world number four, has been an enlightened tennis player since he led the World Team to a third crown in the Laver Cup. Along the way he scored a victory over Alcaraz. He ended Carlitos’ unbeaten run that stretched for 69 days. The world number one took revenge later in the final in Tokyo. Carlitos dominates the head-to-head 4-1.
Fritz broke Zverev’s serve at the first attempt, and the German was always trailing on the scoreboard. He went 3-0 up, and that lead was enough for him to take the opening set.
Sascha’s only advantage on the scoreboard was with the 1-0 lead in the second set. Little by little, his executioner ate away at his lead until he deservedly booked his place in the semi-finals
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