Alcaraz powers past Altmaier, books Monte-Carlo QF spot

Carlos Alcaraz picked up pace in his quest for a maiden Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crown on Thursday.

The 21-year-old countered a below-par serving performance with some trademark clay-court genius to move past German qualifier Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-1 at the ATP Masters 1000 event. Alcaraz was forced to face 10 break points, according to Infosys ATP Stats, but a dazzling ‘tweener lob in the second game was symbolic of his high-quality showing.

“Honestly it was difficult, Danny is playing great,” said Alcaraz. “He’s a solid clay-court player with a difficult game: a lot of topspin shots and [he’s] really good physically. The score doesn’t show how difficult it was… I had to battle in the first set.

“It was good to get a break before the new balls, which helped with the serve. In the second set, I could be myself more, play more aggressively than in the first, and I took my chances.”

Majestic in Monte-Carlo 💫@carlosalcaraz | @ROLEXMCMASTERS | #RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/ftKPCc87PP

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Competing in the Principality for just the second time in his career, Alcaraz this week aims to win a clay Masters 1000 title outside of Madrid for the first time. With his 86-minute victory over Altmaier, the No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings tied Tommy Robredo for the fifth-most quarter-finals reached at that level by Spanish players.

Spanish ATP Masters 1000 QF Leaders (in series history, since 1990)

Altmaier, seeking the biggest win of his career, unleashed a barrage of bruising groundstrokes in a bid to unsettle Alcaraz in the second game. Yet it did nothing more than inject life into the Spaniard, who roared back with an incredible ‘tweener lob to save the second of five break points in an electric, 11-minute tussle.

While Alcaraz landed just 61 per cent of first serves during his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash with Altmaier, he conjured some inspired tennis when it mattered most. The Spaniard dug himself out of a 0/40 hole in the opening game of the second set and crucially did not face another break point en route to racing across the line.

Awaiting Alcaraz in the quarter-finals is Arthur Fils, who earlier upset former champion Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3.

“I’m playing the quarter-final here in Monte-Carlo for the first time,” added Alcaraz. “It's going to be really difficult against Arthur, who is playing great tennis. It’s going to be an interesting match, it’s going to be beautiful to watch and hopefully the people are going to enjoy it.”