Top seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain thrashed his compatriot Bernabe Zapata Miralles 6-2 6-2 in the semifinals at the ATP Buenos Aires Open on Saturday. The 19-year-old, who started this year ranked world #1, remained on course to win his first title of the year and will start as the favourite in Sunday’s final against Britain’s Cameron Norrie. The semifinal lasted for little over an hour, with Alcaraz hardly stretched by Zapata Miralles. But what were the keys to the top seed’s comfortable win?
Alcaraz dominates the baseline
Alcaraz dominated the proceedings from the baseline from the get-go and won the lion’s share of the exchanges from the baseline. Both players looked to keep their opponent on the move, but Zapata Miralles clearly felt the pressure throughout. Unable to match Alcaraz’s power from the baseline with his natural game, Zapata Miralles was guilty of over-pressing, particularly with his forehand.
He also looked to rush the net to force the issue, but was repeatedly beaten by Alcaraz’s passing shots. The result was a one-sided opening set. The pair traded holds early on, but Alcaraz quickly seized control, breaking Zapata Miralles twice in the last four games of the set to canter to a one-set lead.
Alcaraz punishes Zapata Miralles’ second serve:
Alcaraz dominated Zapata Miralles’ second serve throughout the match. The world #2 struck more than one astounding return winners, but even when he was not hitting winners, he typically started the rally in the ascendancy. The result was that Zapata Mirallaes managed to win only 35% of the points behind his second serve. Unsurprisingly, that was not a winning statistic.
Alcaraz was effective on return throughout, winning a remarkable 55% of the points in his return games and converting five of the seven break point opportunities that he created. Zapata Miralles did manage to break once himself, but there was very little else for the 26-year-old to celebrate as he went down to a 2-6 2-6 defeat.
Main photo credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
