Moving a step closer to defending his title, Carlos Alcaraz secured a spot in the semi-finals of the Buenos Aires clay-court tournament by defeating Italian qualifier Andrea Vavassori in straight sets on Friday.
Ranked second in the world, Alcaraz, who was playing his first tournament since a surprising quarter-final exit at the Australian Open, triumphed with a scoreline of 7-6 (7/1), 6-1 against his 152nd-ranked opponent.
Vavassori, known for his victory over three-time major winner Andy Murray on clay at the Madrid Masters last year, put up a strong fight against the Spanish star in the opening set.
However, Alcaraz dominated the second set, surging to a 5-0 lead before ultimately clinching victory after an hour and 40 minutes on the court.
"In the first set he played such a high level," Alcaraz said. "It was really tough to return his serve and challenging conditions with the wind. But I think I played better in the second set.
"His level went down a bit, with his serve as well and I put some returns in, took my chances and I think that was the difference."
The 20-year-old Spaniard is set to challenge either Chilean third seed Nicolas Jarry or Argentina's Tomas Etcheverry, seeded sixth, in a bid to secure a spot in Sunday's title match.
Meanwhile, the other semi-final will showcase an all-Argentine showdown between Facundo Diaz and Federico Coria.
(With AFP inputs)
