The Italian Lorenzo Musetti beat a “broken heart” Stefanos Tsisipas 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 Friday to knock out the holder and reach the semi-finals of the Masters of Monte Carlo. Musetti retaliated after losing the first set against the triple winner of the tournament for having developed the last four games with Australian Alex de Minaur. The 23 -year -old won his first victory on former world number three Greek in five meetings. “He has a special flavor, say, not only because he is the defending champion here, but because before today, I have never won against him,” Musetti told journalists.
“It was probably one of the most difficult challenges I have met in my career so far.
“Regarding tomorrow’s match, I think there is no favorite.
“Tomorrow, we will see who is the favorite on the field, and when we shake hands, there will be a winner,” added the world number 16.
Tsisipas missed the defense of his title after winning in 2021, 2022 and last year.
“It’s difficult to accept,” said Tsisipas.
“I felt that I had every reason to try to win. It’s really heartbreaking,” he added.
Earlier, DE MINAUR produced a ruthless performance to dismantle a Grigor Dimitrov 6-0, 6-0 in just 45 minutes, the match ending on a backdrop of the crowd boos.
Dimitrov gathered a single winner in total, made 23 uncomposed mistakes and won only five points in the second set.
Carlos Alcaraz fought a set to beat the French star Rising Arthur son in a captivating quarter -final.
The quadruple champion of the Grand Chelem, targeting his first title of Masters since he won the Indian Wells last year, saved three break points in the 11th match of the second set on the way to a dramatic victory of 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
“I think his level is high at the moment and he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents,” said Alcaraz about his battered opponent.
“Today, I could feel it, but at times, he just made some mistakes and I tried to make the most of these points and wait for my chances.”
He will face his Spanish compatriot without seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina for a place in the final on Saturday.
The only title of Alcaraz this season remains the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam in February, but he seems to take advantage of his return to Clay.
The 20 -year -old sons, classified as 12th, underwent a third successive defeat in the quarter -finals in the Masters this season after having released in the last eight at Indian Wells and the Incourcle de Miami.
Alcaraz is a strong favorite to withdraw the title after the first outings for Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, during an event where he had lost his only previous match in 2022.
He showed all his fighting qualities to take over the wires, in what is likely to have been their first meeting of many.
Earlier, Davidovich Fokina sailed in the semi-finals with a dominant victory over Alexei Popyrin.
The world’s number 42 Davidovich Fokina, who was a finalist in the tournament in 2022 in Stefanos Tsisipas, dismissed the Popyrin 6-3 of Australia, 6-2 in the last eight.
Davidovich Fokina was full of confidence after dropping the fifth head of British Jack Draper in the last 16 and put another accomplished screen.
(This story has not been published by NDTV staff and is generated automatically from a unionized flow.)
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