New York: Carlos Alcaraz reached his first major semi-final after defeating Italy’s Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final of the US Open on Thursday. The battle was the second-longest match in US Open history.
Alcaraz outlasted Sinner 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3, saving one match point in the fourth set en route to his five-hour, 15-minute triumph.
Alcaraz got off to a smooth start after taking the first set 6-3. However, Sinner showed some great performance to level in the second set, recovering from 5-6, 0-40 down to force a tie break.
Alcaraz had a fourth set point at 7-6 in the breaker but Sinner got it back to 7-7 with an ace.
In the third set, Alcaraz finally got some crucial advantage with a break in the 11th game and took a 6-5 lead. Sinner sprinted into a 6-0 lead before taking the set.
Sinner carried his momentum into the fourth set. But Alcaraz again staged another fightback levelling at 3-3. Back immediately, with double-faulting, Alcaraz gave a break point to his opponent.
But Alcaraz was back and broke into the fifth set decider where he booked his place in the semifinals.
The third seed will now face Frances Tiafoe on Friday for a spot in Sunday’s final.
Alcaraz had edged past Croatia’s Marin Cilic in another five-set epic in the fourth round in a match that finished at 2.23am local time on Tuesday.
