ATP Tour

Alcaraz suffers new lapse, recovers to down Rublev in Cincinnati

Carlos Alcaraz overcame a fired-up Andrey Rublev and a nervy, error-strewn final set on Friday at the Cincinnati Open to book his spot in the semi-finals.

The No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has dealt with ebbs and flows in his game throughout his campaign in Ohio, and his quarter-final clash with Rublev was no different. Yet Alcaraz, despite hitting 15 unforced errors and three double faults in the decider, held firm to prevail 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 and reach his 12th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.

CARLITOS 🤝 SEMIS@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/2vYkMpjWzW

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 15, 2025

It marked the 10th time this year that Alcaraz has dropped the second set after winning the first in a best-of-three-set match. The 22-year-old Spaniard has won nine of those clashes, and after his victory over Rublev, he alluded to his love for the battle.

“It’s just [about] accepting the moment, accepting that I am playing a third set, accepting that it’s going to be a really tough battle, and I love that,” said Alcaraz. “It was extreme conditions, but I just love playing in front of this energy. I am just really happy to live these kinds of experiences, so I just remind myself of that in these moments.”

Alcaraz remains on track to face top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner in the final for a fourth consecutive tournament in which they have both featured, but the rivals have taken considerably different routes to the last four. Sinner, who faces Terence Atmane on Saturday, has yet to drop a set, while Alcaraz has surrendered his serve in each of his four matches and twice advanced after three-set battles.

“I maintained positive thoughts all the time, even though I lost focus a few times during the second set,” said Alcaraz. “Playing someone like Andrey, when you lose focus on two or three points, it [can] cost you the set or almost the match. I just stayed strong mentally and that’s what I’m most proud of.”

After breaking Rublev for 5-3 in the final set and letting out a mighty roar, Alcaraz then threw in another tight service game, which he opened with a double fault. He was forced to draw on his mental reserves deep into the decider after Rublev levelled at 5-5, but he did so in style to extend his ATP Masters 1000 winning streak to 15 matches, following titles in Monte-Carlo and Rome.

{{player.PlayerFirstName}} {{player.PlayerLastName}}

{{player.PlayerCountryCode}}

{{player.PlayerLastName}}

{{player.PartnerLastName}}

{{player.Record}}

Vs
wins

{{opponent.Record}}

Show H2H Detail

{{opponent.PlayerFirstName}} {{opponent.PlayerLastName}}

{{opponent.PlayerCountryCode}}

{{ opponent.PlayerLastName }}

{{opponent.PartnerLastName}}

• {{player.Ranking}} Rank {{opponent.Ranking}}
• {{player.Age ? player.Age : '-'}} Age {{opponent.Age ? opponent.Age : '-'}}

With his two-hour, 17-minute victory, Alcaraz tied Carlos Moya for the third-most ATP Masters 1000 semi-finals among Spanish players. He now leads Rublev 4-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, having won their fourth-round clash at Wimbledon last month.

Spanish ATP Masters 1000 SF Leaders (since 1990) 

Alcaraz, who owns a Tour-leading 52 wins and five titles in 2025, faces a semi-final showdown against World No. 3 Alexander Zverev. Alcaraz reached the Cincinnati final in 2023 and held a championship point before falling to Novak Djokovic in a three-set epic.

Aiming to become the first man to defeat Alcaraz before the final of the tournament since David Goffin in Miami in March, Rublev upped his aggression and reduced his unforced error count in the second set to just four. However, the ninth seed was unable to maintain that form in a decider, which was delayed for six minutes to resolve a medical issue in the stands.

Rublev, the 2021 Cincinnati runner-up, will leave Ohio having dropped four spots to No. 15 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, despite reaching the quarter-finals for a second consecutive year.

Alcaraz holds a 1,540-point lead over second-placed Sinner in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, which serves an indicator as to who will claim Year-End ATP No. 1 honours presented by PIF. Both players have already qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals, where Sinner is defending champion.