Top seed Carlos Alcaraz booked his place in the Barcelona Open final after completing a straight-sets victory over France’s Arthur Fils in the semi-finals.
The Spaniard beat 14th seed Fils 6-2 6-4 and will now play Holger Rune for the title after he dispatched Karen Khachanov 6-3 6-2 on the outdoor clay.
Alcaraz has a 2-1 record against Rune, last defeating the Dane at Wimbledon in 2023, but the pair are yet to meet on clay.
Alcaraz, who won his first Monte-Carlo Masters title last weekend, is searching for his third title of the year on home soil and 19th of his career, and has a positive record at the Barcelona Open, having won it in 2022 and 2023.
“Since I was a little kid, I was here on Sundays watching the final,” Alcaraz said.
“I played twice here, so being in a final here in Barcelona again means a lot. It’s been a really fun and great week, and let’s see if we can end tomorrow with a trophy.”
Zverev eyes third Munich title
Top seed Alexander Zverev hit nine aces as he defeated Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 to set up a Munich Open final showdown with American Ben Shelton.
The world No 3 will be looking to collect his 24th career title and his third on home turf which could see him level Philipp Kohlschreiber’s haul of three Munich titles.
“It’s awesome, the entire week has been amazing,” said Zverev.
“I lost focus once in the first set on my serve, but apart from that, I thought it was a good match. I thought Fabian played extremely well, and I’m just happy to be in the final.”
Second seed Shelton secured a 2-6 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 win over Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo to book his spot in the final.
“To get a win on clay against a guy like that gives me a lot of confidence, and to be in an (ATP) 500 final over here in Europe, I’m really happy,” Shelton said.
“I’ve been playing well here, I love the energy here in Munich, and I’m going to go for that title.”
Ostapenko maintains unbeaten record against Swiatek
Jelena Ostapenko maintained her incredible unbeaten record against Iga Swiatek with a victory in the quarter-finals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
The Pole must have hoped a first clash on her favoured clay would help her end her hoodoo against Ostapenko, but instead the big-hitting Latvian extended her head-to-head advantage to 6-0.
Swiatek, champion in Germany in 2022 and 2023, fought back after losing the opening set, but Ostapenko pulled away in the decider to win 6-3 3-6 6-2.
“The main thing for me is just to stay aggressive when I play against her,” said Ostapenko. “I know that I will have chances. I’m really happy to be in the semi-finals.”
In the last four, the former French Open champion will face Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova, who thumped in-form third seed Jessica Pegula 6-0 6-4.
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka is bidding for her first title in Stuttgart after losing in the final three years in a row, and she will fancy her chances of ending that run after easing to a 6-4 6-1 win over Elise Mertens.
Her semi-final opponent will be fifth seed Jasmine Paolini, who produced a fine display to defeat Coco Gauff 6-4 6-3.
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Aryna Sabalenka was unhappy with a call during her match with Elise Mertens, so she took a picture of the ball mark with a mobile phone!
Meanwhile, in the Rouen Open, No 3 seed Olga Danilovic beat Dutchwoman Suzan Lamens 6-4, 6-4 to reach the final at the Kindarena.
Danilovic will face Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in the final after she defeated Romanian Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-0 6-2 in the semi-finals.
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