World No. 18 Pablo Carreno Busta said he knew how he needed to play against Carlos Alcaraz but it wasn’t of a big help because the 18-year-old gave him no chance to do anything.Ā
On Sunday, Carreno Busta and Alcaraz went to court twice.Ā
Carreno Busta started his Barcelona semifinal versus Diego Schwartzman on Saturday but played just a few games before the match was suspended due to darkness.Ā
The match continued on Sunday and Carreno Busta claimed a routine 6-3 6-2 win.Ā
On the other side, Alcaraz needed three hours and 43 hours of play to beat Alex de Minaur in the semifinal.Ā
Carreno Busta was hoping Alcaraz would feel at least a bit tired but that wasn’t the case as the 18-year-old dismantled Carreno Busta 6-3 6-2.Ā
Carreno Busta: Alcaraz was just too good
“I know him a lot and I knew how to play him, but he showed that this year he is playing at a very high level. Then you have to practice what you think you have to do and today he played very strong from the baseline and had a string of winners in many places. It was hard. I had to be very precise to be able to stand up to him. With my backhand, I was not at all comfortable and my serve did not help me either. (ā¦) He was very aggressive. Maybe being more tired, he saw more clearly how to play. It was very difficult to stand up to him, he was very precise. He is 18 years old so he has the desire, the enthusiasm and the physique to recover well. I hope we will face each other many more times, especially in the final,” Carreno Busta said, per We Love Tennis.Ā
Carreno Busta isn’t competing this week as he is expected to return to action at the Madrid Masters next week.