Madrid Open 2023: Birthday boy Carlos Alcaraz battles past Borna Coric to set up final against Jan-Lennard Struff

Carlos Alcaraz’s barnstorming Madrid Open title defence continued as he dispatched Borna Coric 6-4 6-3 to celebrate his 20th birthday by returning to the final.

The Spaniard found the only break midway through an intense opening set where both players showcased dazzling speed and execution in a series of entertaining rallies.

He then broke the Croatian’s serve three times to take the second set, before being presented on court with a giant tennis ball birthday cake.

The reigning Madrid champion, who is looking for his fourth title of the season, will face Jan-Lennard Struff, who became the first lucky loser to reach an ATP 1000 final after beating Aslan Karatsev 4-6 6-3 6-4.

“It means a lot to me, playing a final again here in Madrid,” said Alcaraz.

“It’s such a special place for me and I have great memories since I came here to play [as an] under-12. Of course last year was amazing. Turning 20 like that is special, so I will enjoy the final here and of course I will try to make all of Spain happy.”

Alcaraz will go into the final as a huge favourite after dropping just one set on his way to the decider – his opening set of the tournament against Emil Ruusuvori – as he builds towards a tilt at the Roland Garros crown.

The 20-year-old’s record on home soil is another daunting prospect for his rivals; he has now won 20 consecutive ATP Tour matches in Spain. The youngster insisted he feels no pressure to deliver in front of a home crowd.

“I don’t think about the pressure here, I just think about playing a great game, getting good results. It’s a really special place for me, I enjoy every second here, so that’s all I think about,” Alcaraz said.

The hats were out in force in the stands as the baking heat of the afternoon sun bared down on the fans, but there was no sign of any hot weather doziness from the players as the match got off to a ferocious start.

Alcaraz applied immediate pressure in the opening game by setting up two break points, but both were saved by Coric.

Hard running and even harder hitting were the order of the day as both players produced a stunning array of shots in their pursuit of a breakthrough, with Coric next to have a break point saved when Alcaraz recovered to hold at 2-2.

There were more than 32 minutes on the clock by the time the first four games were over, but the gruelling battle eventually saw a breakthrough come in game five.

Alcaraz earned two break points after another long, hard-hitting rally went his way, and he took the first with a laser-guided forehand winner into the corner.

It proved to be the defining moment of the set as neither player managed to set up a break point from then on in and Alcaraz eventually finished the job with a love hold to close the opener in one hour and one minute.

Set two followed a different pattern as it opened with back-to-back breaks, in the third and fourth games, Coric responding to Alcaraz to keep the contest alive.

But the Croatian couldn’t consolidate his break as Alcaraz struck again to take a 3-2 lead and stayed solid on serve before finding a third break on match point.

Alcaraz finished up with four aces to Coric’s two and 30 winners to 22.

In the other semi-final, Struff came back from a set down to beat Karatsev and reach his first ATP 1000 final in two hours, 18 minutes.

It was timely revenge for the German, who lost in straight sets to Karatsev during qualifying in Madrid 10 days earlier, only to be reinstated as a lucky loser and go on a dazzling run to earn a rematch with the Russian.

World No. 65 Struff stormed past Lorenzo Sonego, Ben Shelton, Dusan Lajovic, Pedro Cachin and Stefanos Tsitsipas before taking down Karatsev.

“It is amazing. I didn’t think about this. I played one final before in Munich [2021] but there was no crowd because of Covid,” Struff said.

“Now I am here and [there is] an amazing crowd. I think on Sunday it will also be a very good crowd. I am very happy to reach a final and very happy with the win.”

The 33-year-old was aided by his huge serve, landing 15 aces to Karatsev’s three, while he also struck 37 winners to 31.

– – –