Carlos Alcaraz overcame a stiff examination from Frenchman Arthur Fils to reach the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals with a fighting 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win on Friday.
The world number three was made to work hard to defeat the home hope, who landed with a bang in front of an enthusiastic home contingent. Fils, who is ranked No. 15 in the world, raced to a 3-0 lead on the strength of two early breaks and took the first set 6-4, despite Alcaraz briefly fighting back to level the score at 4-4.
Fils failed to convert on any of his seven break point chances in the second set and Alcaraz pinched the set with a brilliant lob in the final game. The shift in momentum was clear as it felt like frustration started to slip into the Frenchman’s game.
Although Alcaraz lost serve early in the third, he answered with two powerful breaks of his own, including in the eighth game when Fils lost his cool and smashed his racket in anger.
Four-time Grand Slam titleholder Alcaraz completed the match in two hours and 34 minutes to book an all-Spanish semi-final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
In another game, Alex de Minaur crushed Grigor Dimitrov 6-0, 6-0 in only 44 minutes, taking advantage of the 23 unforced errors made by the Bulgarian.
