Carlos Alcaraz has reached the final four at the Cincinnati Open for the second time in his career, after defeating Andrey Rublev in the quarterfinals.
Alcaraz won in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 to clinch his 12th ATP Masters 1000 semifinal appearance, and fourth of this season.
The Spaniard dropped his second set of the tournament so far in his clash with Rublev, who came close to snapping his losing streak against him.
It was not to be for the Russian, however, and Alcaraz sealed his 17th top 20 win of 2025, and has now won 37 of his last 39 matches on the tour.
Ryan Harrison reacts to Carlos Alcaraz’s post-match celebration
After shaking hands with his opponent at the net, the world number two let out a huge roar to the Cincinnati crowd to celebrate his victory.
Former American tennis player Ryan Harrison said on Sky Sports: “Have you ever seen a reaction like this by a guy who has won so many majors in the quarterfinals of a Masters?
“Not to take anything away from the occasion, but for someone who has been world number one for so many weeks and won so many majors, look at the energy!
“Just the way he loves to compete and what it means. This guy just bleeds competitiveness.”
Carlos Alcaraz gives his thoughts on beating Andrey Rublev in Cincinnati
In his on-court interview, Alcaraz said: “I think today I maintained positive thoughts all the time, even though I lost my focus a few times in the match.
“In the second set that game serving that he broke me, I lost a few points that in a match against someone like Andrey, when you lose focus for two or three points, it costs you the set or even the match.
“And then serving for the match, I didn’t play with the first serve, I lost focus a bit, and he broke again. In those moments, I stayed positive and strong mentality, and that is the thing I am most proud about.
“It was extreme conditions, but I just love playing in front of this kind of energy of crowd. The atmosphere was unbelievable.
“I am just happy to live this experience, and I remind myself of that in those moments, and that’s why a smile came to my face.”
In the semifinals, Alcaraz will face world number three Alexander Zverev for the 12th time in his career.
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