Carlos Alcaraz beat Jiri Lehecka 6-4 6-2 6-4 in the quarter-final of the US Open, and Mats Wilander praised him for another huge win at Flushing Meadows.
Alcaraz cruised to victory over his Czech opponent and will face either Novak Djokovic or 2024 finalist Taylor Fritz in the semi-final.
The Spaniard was imperious against Lehecka and produced superb tennis across all three sets with minimal lapses, and has yet to drop a set at the tournament.
In fact, at no point against Lehecka did he seem in danger of dropping a set, and finished all three in just under two hours on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
“Carlos Alcaraz is through again, he played an amazing match,” Wilander said.
“He’s moving amazingly well, he’s hitting the ball well, his forehand is really working. Sometimes he makes mistakes on the forehand, not this time.”
Wilander continued: “He has improved his serve so much that if you’re going to beat Carlos Alcaraz, you have to play like Jiri Lehecka did at times – the very, very best of your ability, because Carlos Alcaraz will not give anything for free.
“He’s playing better in every round, and I think he’s going to get better in every round, so it’s going to be really tough to beat Carlos Alcaraz.”
Alcaraz suffered a shock second-round defeat in New York 12 months ago but has returned renewed and with a new haircut, coasting into the semi-finals of the tournament he won in 2022.
He has been making plenty of highlight reel moments at this year’s Grand Slam and his X-factor produced plenty more on Tuesday.
“Sometimes when I go to the living room my little brothers are watching videos of me, my highlights,” Alcaraz said.
“Every time that I watch myself again, it reminds me of the match and I enjoy it.”
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Video credit: SNTV
Should he win the US Open this year, Alcaraz will finally reclaim the No. 1 ranking over Jannik Sinner, but the 22-year-old is doing his best to keep that goal out of his mind when playing
“It’s really difficult not to think about it, obviously. But every time I step on the court I’m trying not to think about. If I think about the number one spot too much, then I’m going to put pressure on myself, and I don’t want to do that.
“I want to step on the court, try to do my thing, try to follow my goals in the match and enjoy it as much as I can. The number one is there but I’m trying not to think so much about it.”
Alcaraz has dispatched his opponents with ease, but has yet to be fully tested in New York this year, and Lehecka was seen as a reasonable examination for the French Open champion.
Lehecka had beaten him in Doha in February and also pushed him in the Queen’s Club final, but the Czech’s big serve was no match for Alcaraz’s mix of fore and backhands.
And part of his now tried-and-tested routine in New York involves heading right to the golf course, and Alcaraz does not plan to change.
“100%. It’s something that is working well, so why change the routine?” he said.
“Every day off, I just try to go to play some golf. “
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