Carlos Alcaraz will go toe-to-toe with ninth seed Andrey Rublev for a place in the Cincinnati Open semifinals.
Alcaraz booked his place in the last eight after defeating Luca Nardi in straight sets, in what was a dominant performance from the Spaniard, who is enjoying a much better Cincinnati campaign this year.
Last season, he crashed out in his opening match at the tournament to ATP veteran Gael Monfils, before going on to suffer a second-round exit at the US Open.
After opting out of the Canadian Open, Alcaraz‘s North American hard-court swing this time around is going well so far, and he can now close in on an incredible feat against Rublev.
Carlos Alcaraz can match ATP 1000 records of Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov
Should he emerge victorious against the Russian, Alcaraz will have made 12 ATP Masters 1000 semifinals in his career.
Among active players on the tour, he is currently tied in sixth with former Grand Slam finalist Kei Nishikori on 11.
Reaching a total of 12 would see him level with his rival Jannik Sinner, as well as Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic.
The only current players with more than 12 semifinal appearances at Masters 1000 events are Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, and Novak Djokovic.
Carlos Alcaraz’s success at ATP Masters 1000 events
Alcaraz made his first Masters 1000 semifinal at the 2022 Indian Wells Open, where he ultimately bowed out to Rafael Nadal.
At the next tournament, however, he went all the way, winning the Miami Open after defeating Casper Ruud in the final.
Since then, he has added six more crowns to his name, including back-to-back triumphs at both Indian Wells and the Madrid Open.
This year, Alcaraz has won two of the four Masters tournaments he has competed in, having hoisted the Monte-Carlo Masters trophy, as well as the Italian Open title.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
