BUENOS AIRES – Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the semi-finals of the Buenos Aires clay-court tournament on Feb 16 with a straight-set win over Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori.
World No. 2 Alcaraz, playing his first tournament since a shock quarter-final exit at the Australian Open, came through 7-6 (7-1), 6-1 against his 152nd-ranked opponent.
Vavassori, who stunned three-time Major winner Andy Murray on clay at the Madrid Masters in 2023, matched the Spanish star blow-for-blow in the opening set.
However, Alcaraz then raced into a 5-0 lead in the second set before sealing victory after an hour and 40 minutes on court.
“In the first set, he played such a high level,” the twice Major winner said.
“It was really tough to return his serve and challenging conditions with the wind. But I think I played better in the second set.
“His level went down a bit, with his serve as well and I put some returns in, took my chances and I think that was the difference.”
The 20-year-old Spaniard will face either Chilean third seed Nicolas Jarry or Argentina’s Tomas Etcheverry, seeded sixth, for a place in the final on Feb 18.
The other semi-final will be an all-Argentinian affair between Facundo Diaz and Federico Coria.
In the Netherlands, Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner reached the Rotterdam Open semi-finals on Feb 16 when the injury-plagued Milos Raonic retired at 1-1 in the second set of their last-eight clash.
Top seed Sinner took the first set 7-6 (7-4) before the big-hitting Canadian called it quits after two more games. He faces Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, who defeated Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 7-5, 7-6 (7-4), for a place in the final on Feb 18.
“Obviously this is not the way you want to win the match,” said Sinner. “I wish him a speedy recovery.
“I was actually playing and I was not realising that he was about to retire but he knows his body really well and he knows his limits so, for sure, it’s the right choice for him.”
Bulgarian sixth-seed Grigor Dimitrov edged into the semi-finals, seeing off Kazakhstan’s Alexander Shevchenko 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-4.
Dimitrov will next face fifth seed Alex de Minaur after the Australian shocked second seed Andrey Rublev 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-3.
On the women’s circuit, defending champion and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek was on Feb 16 handed a walkover into the Qatar Open final, where Elena Rybakina will stand in her way of a third successive title at the Gulf event.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek had been scheduled to face Karolina Pliskova in her semi-final.
However, the Czech, who won the Cluj tournament in Romania last weekend, withdrew suffering from a lower back injury.
Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina was stronger at the key moments as she beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2, 6-4 to reach the final. AFP
