Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz has secured a place in the semifinals of the Rome Masters, and as of Monday, second place in the ATP rankings.
He achieved a valuable victory against Britain's Jack Draper - 6:4, 6:4 in a not-so-easy match on the dry clay of the Central Court at the Foro Italico complex.
Unlike Wednesday, when the program was significantly disrupted by rain, today was sunny and dry, and Alkaras had to chase down a deficit in the first set.
Draper was the first to reach the break - leading 4:2, but Alcaraz "threw it in the fifth", immediately returning the break with a zero, and then tied three more games for 6:4.
He continued the streak in the second set, immediately breaking his rival's serve, but Draper fought back and the match was evenly matched until the ninth game.
Then Alkaras broke again with zero, and then ended the match.
Alcaraz will play in the semifinals against the winner of the Alexander Zverev - Lorenzo Muzzetti duel, which will be played tonight.
Bonus video:
