Tennis: Alcaraz survives Fils onslaught in Monte-Carlo
Second seed Carlos Alcaraz beat Arthur Fils at the Monte-Carlo Masters on Friday, weathering a brutal display of hitting from the Frenchman to make his maiden final four appearance at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monaco.
Fils stepped onto court as the only man to make the quarter-finals of all three Masters tournaments this season, full of confidence after racing past seventh seed Andrey Rublev in the round of 16.
The No.12 seed employed his booming forehand to great affect across the first set, racing out to a 3-0 lead before holding on to win the opening stanza 6-4.
The second set was far tighter, with Alcaraz coming back from 0-40 down at 5-5 to steal the set and keep his hopes of a maiden Monte-Carlo title alive.
It seemed Fils was going to be the one to hold his nerve in the decider, however, with the 20-year-old building a 3-1 lead and looking in control before a resurgent Alcaraz reeled off five straight games to close out the match.
“I just wanted to stay strong and wait for my chances,” said Alcaraz, who entered the match as a $1.33 favourite across tennis betting sites.
“I think his level is high right now and he puts a lot of pressure on his opponents.
“Today I could feel it but in some moments he just made a few mistakes and I tried to make the most of those points and wait for my chances.
“The second set I saved those break points and then made the only break point I had that set.
“In the third set I was just trying to play good tennis.
“When I was a break down I just tried to keep going and play aggressively and be strong mentally and physically.”
BetOnline has shortened Alcaraz’s odds of winning the title this weekend to $1.50 now, with compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina waiting in the semi-finals.
Alcaraz heads into their clash priced at $1.20 to win by leading bookmakers, having won their only previous meeting in 2023.
