MONTE CARLO, Monaco — Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz and his closest rival Jannik Sinner both cruised into the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters with straight-sets wins on Friday.
Sinner extended his winning run at Masters 1000 events to 20 matches as he brushed aside Felix Auger-Aliassime, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour 32 minutes.
Alcaraz was next on the center court and extended his clay-court run of victories to 16 as he crushed Alexander Bublik, 6-3, 6-0, in one hour three minutes.
The top two had both suffered second-set blips the day before when Sinner, who said later his energy level was not right had his record streak of 36 consecutive sets won in Masters tournaments snapped by Tomas Machac in the last 16.
“I feel like it was a step forwards today,” said the Italian after beating Canadian Auger-Aliassime.
“It was a very tough match. I knew I had to get better in certain areas. The serve is not there yet, where I would love it (to be), but all things considered I’m very happy.
“But in any case, very happy to be back in the semis.”
Sinner has never won one of the elite clay tournaments but will be a strong favorite when he plays Alexander Zverev after winning their last seven meetings.
The world number two, who completed the “Sunshine double” with wins at Indian Wells and the Miami Open, is still on track for a possible first clash of the year with Alcaraz in the final.
Sinner dropped just seven points on serve in a dominant opening set which he took courtesy of a break in the sixth game.
The four-time Grand Slam champion also powered through the second set, wrapping up his fifth consecutive win over seventh-ranked Auger-Aliassime.
