Twenty ATP Tour victories in a row for 20-year-old Carlos Alcaraz in Spain. On Friday at the Mutua Madrid Open, the top seed celebrated his birthday with yet another unrelenting display in his native country. He overcame Borna Coric's fierce opposition to win the clay-court ATP Masters 1000 semi-final match 6-4, 6-3.
In order to defeat Coric's tenacious performance, Alcaraz had to perform at his peak. The added diversity in the Spaniard's game was crucial to his victory, as he repeatedly dragged the spirited Coric about Manolo Santana Stadium and successfully converted four of six break points to win in one hour and 41 minutes.
After successfully defending his title in Barcelona two weeks ago, Alcaraz will attempt to win his fourth straight ATP Tour crown in Spain on Sunday when he faces either Aslan Karatsev or Jan-Lennard Struff. The Spaniard can reclaim the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings if he wins the Caja Magica title by just competing in a match at the Internazionali BNL d'Italia later this month.