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<\/a><\/p>\nMADRID (Reuters) -Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz celebrated his 20th birthday by storming into the Madrid Open final with a 6-4 6-3 victory over Borna Coric on Friday to stay on track for his fourth title of the season.<\/p>\n
In Sunday’s title clash, the top-seeded Spaniard will face off against lucky loser Jan-Lennard Struff who battled from a set down to beat qualifier Aslan Karatsev 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the other semi-final.<\/p>\n
“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid. It’s such a special place for me. I have great memories since I came here to play Under-12s,” Alcaraz said.<\/p>\n
“Last year it was amazing. I’ll enjoy the final and try to make all of Spain happy. I don’t think about the pressure here. I just think about playing great matches and getting good results. I enjoy every single second here.”<\/p>\n
Alcaraz has enjoyed a spectacular start to his career, becoming the youngest man to top the world rankings after his U.S. Open win last September and has already claimed three Masters 1000 titles as a teenager.<\/p>\n
He took a big step towards another Masters crown and stamped his credentials as one of the favourites for this month’s French Open on a warm afternoon at the Manolo Santana Stadium with six-times Roland Garros champion Bjorn Borg watching on.<\/p>\n
World number two Alcaraz heaped the pressure on Coric in their first career meeting and faced stiff resistance from the Croatian 17th seed before drawing first blood with a searing forehand in the fifth game of a physical opening set.<\/p>\n
After wrapping up the first set, Alcaraz grabbed an early break and despite a wobble on his own serve, raced to a 4-2 lead in the next as he dictated terms against a fading Coric.<\/p>\n
He swiftly closed out his 28th win in 30 matches this year and celebrated by cutting a massive cake on court.<\/p>\n
FAIRYTALE RUN<\/p>\n
Struff lost to Russia’s Karatsev 10 days ago in the final round of qualifying but was added to the main draw after a late withdrawal. He has since enjoyed a fine run, ousting world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-final.<\/p>\n
The German was made to work hard for the win by Karatsev – who struggled with a leg issue late in their semi-final – and will now bid for a first ATP title in his second final.<\/p>\n
“It’s amazing… I’ve played one final before in Munich (in 2021) with no crowd because of COVID,” Struff said.<\/p>\n
“Now, here an amazing crowd and I think on Sunday maybe not all will be rooting for me but it’s fine. I’m happy to reach the final and happy to win.”<\/p>\n
In Saturday’s women’s final, world number one Iga Swiatek faces Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka.<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar and Toby Davis)<\/p>\n
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