In the South American summer sunshine, the world No.2 and Argentina Open defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz, progressed into the semi-finals with a straight set defeat of the Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori and will next face the third seed from Chile, Nicolas Jarry who outlasted sixth seed and local hero Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Alcaraz, who is playing for the first time since the Australian Open in what is only his second tournament of the season, won nine of the last 10 points to take a tight first set before showing his quality in the second set to win 7-6(1) 6-1 after one-hour and 40-minutes.
Reflecting on the match, Alcaraz said: “The first set he played at a high level, it was really tough to return his serve and it was really challenging conditions with the wind changing direction.
“I played better in the second set, his level went down a bit, and I took my chances, and that was the difference.”
Following an opening round bye as the top seed, Alcaraz has shown a bit of match rustiness but has, in both his matches, found enough form to secure wins.
Vavassori provide him with some stiff opposition in the opening set but failed to take a break point in the seventh game after Alcaraz had failed to convert one in game four.
The Italian showed off excellent serve-volleying skills on back-to-back points to move 6-5 ahead.
In the ensuing tiebreak, Alcaraz dominated with a couple of trademark drop shots to open up an early lead as he strode into a 4-0 lead.
Vavassori got on the board in the sixth game but Alcaraz closed out the win in style with a forehand winner.
The second semi pitches two local players, Federico Coria and Facundo Diaz Acosta so Argentina are guaranteed a finalist.
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