Former world No. 1 Andy Murray absolutely enjoyed watching Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas go against each other on the clay courts of Barcelona.
Alcaraz, who became a Masters champion after beating Casper Ruud in the Miami Masters final, defeated Tsitsipas 6-4 5-7 6-2 in the Barcelona quarterfinal.
It was the third meeting between the two and Alcaraz’s third victory over Tsitsipas.
Alcaraz beat Tsitsipas when they clashed at the US Open last year and also beat the Greek en route to winning Miami.
“Tsitsipas and Alcaraz are brilliant to watch. Loads of variety, great movers,” Murray tweeted.
Tsitsipas and Alcaraz are brilliant to watch ❤️ Loads of variety, great movers #tennis
— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) April 22, 2022
Alcaraz recovered to beat Tsitsipas
Alcaraz claimed the first break of the match in the ninth game and then routinely served out for the first set in the following game.
Alcaraz was up by a double break in the second set as he was 6-4 4-1 up before Tsitsipas claimed three breaks to overturn the deficit and force a third set.
Losing the second set didn’t impact Alcaraz, who started the second set with back-to-back breaks and a 4-0 lead before serving out for the match in the eighth game.
“Probably my biggest win on clay court. It was unbelievable,” Alcaraz said after beating Tsitsipas. “Unbelievable game that I played, unbelievable atmosphere that I lived today on court. It was unbelievable everything. The atmosphere here, the crowd, the level that I played, the level of the match. It was incredible.”
Alcaraz took a bathroom break after losing the second set and it helped him refresh a bit.
“I went to the bathroom just to turn off my mind, just trying to change what I played at the end of the second set, just to be focussed on the third set,” he explained. “Forget everything in the match and just give 100 per cent in the third set.”
Following his win over Tsitsipas, Alcaraz is guaranteed to break into the top-10 on Monday.