In a comparison of different conditions to his debut on Wednesday, with a much lower temperature (12 degrees), the 19-year-old born in El Palmar had a firm start and took a quick lead (3-0), but fell in a rut and allowed Lajovic’s recovery (4-4), although he later corrected and took the first set with a break in the tenth game.
Alcaraz was somewhat more consistent in the second quarterin which he again escaped in the result (4-1), but this time he managed to maintain the difference and closed the game with a remarkable winning parallel forehand for the final 6-4 and 6-2.
“Everything has been very different from what we were used to, there was rain, some cold, but the tennis player’s day-to-day is to get used to what is coming, and I think a great match came out. I have competed very well, I have played a great level, but I want to continue improving ahead of the semifinals”, said the Spaniard as soon as the match ended.
Later, the player from Murcia expanded on the change in weather in Buenos Aires and considered that “every week is different for a tennis player, in a short time you have to get used to the circumstances that appear. Coming from a very hot and humid climate to one very cold, so it’s time to adapt to this, to the wind, and to give a good performance”.
Alcaraz also referred to the generational renewal in tennis and considered that “players like Musetti, Sinner and Rune are practically there in the ranking, they have a magnificent level. But Medvedev, Zverev, there are several who are at a high level and with options to being number 1 and winning Grand Slams, there is a very wide range of players who can be at the top”.
The number 2 in the world considered that having Juan Carlos Ferrero as coach helps because “you make fewer mistakes, having him already [Martínez] Cascales, who have gone through what I’m going through, it helps not to make the mistakes that they may have made, and to move on and be better.”
In the semifinals, Alcaraz will meet the winner of the match that will be played by the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo, fifth favorite, and the Spanish Bernabé Zapata Miralles.