Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz fought hard to overcome Alex Molcan’s fierce resistance in the semifinals of the Hamburg European Open 2022 season.
After going through a fierce first set, the first seed managed to beat Slovakian tennis player Molcan 7-6, 6-1, a victory that sent him to the final of the Hamburg European Open.
The win puts the Spaniard at number 5 in the world and a chance at world number 4 if he returns home with the title. Regardless of the final result, he will break into the top 5 for the first time in his career.
“It was a tough match,” admitted Alcaraz. “Obviously he’s playing really well. The first set was really tight. I feel very happy to have ended the first set playing well.”
“In the second set, I think his performance dropped a bit. He didn’t play very well. I finished the game full of confidence and played very impressively.”
The first seed faced a challenging early match against Molcan who kept pace with the first seed’s attacks from the baseline throughout the first set. The first seed took a two-time lead with break opportunities, but was forced into a tiebreak.
“I can’t read the dropshot from him,” Alcaraz continued. “He did better with a dropshot in this match. So I was a little frustrated in the first set.”
But after the 2022 Madrid Open champion contributed to Molcan’s success by making a number of unforced errors late in the first set, he got the better of it by snatching a 6/0 lead before claiming victory.
The 2022 Miami Open champion maintained momentum in the second set after he was barely touched from the baseline, while Molcan was unable to deliver the tenacity he displayed in the first.
The 19-year-old is now looking to add to his 5-0 record in finals, including 4-0 this season, when he faces Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the Hamburg European Open final. With a win in the final, he will surpass compatriot Rafael Nadal as the men’s player with the most titles in the 2022 season to date.
“Lorenzo played very impressively,” Alcaraz commented about Musetti. “Of course, he’s a great player. It will be a great final. He had a good match before the final. So did I, so, gained a lot of confidence.”
Both Alcaraz and Musetti entered the final of the Hamburg European Open bagging eight straight set wins after they lost a set in the first round.
