French tennis star
Arthur Fils has stated that he tried to
learn more about Spain’s
Carlos Alcaraz before of their much-awaited semifinal clash
at the
Barcelona Open. The ATP 500 event is moving towards its conclusion as remaining
four players are giving their all to secure the ultimate prize.
Fils is one of those four players who cemented their spot in
the semifinal of the event as he was awarded a walkover against Greece’s Stefanos
Tsitsipas. That result sets up an interesting clash against the world number two, Spain’s Alcaraz, who cemented his spot in the last-four after beating Alex de Minaur in straight sets with a score of 7-5, 6-3.
The two recently met in the quarterfinal of the Monte-Carlo
Masters, where the young Spaniard came out on top with a score of 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
That was the only meeting between the two players in professional tennis. Fils,
who is often regarded as one of the most talented players currently playing in
men’s tennis in the singles category, has been recently quoted in a report by
The Tennis Gazette, where he stated that he tried to learn more about Alcaraz’s game
by watching him play De Minaur.
“Of course. The last match was very positive. Of course, I
lost it, but still very positive,” he said. “Tomorrow is gonna be different. We
are in Spain. He’s playing great here. I think he won twice already. So yeah,
it’s gonna be a nice one. I watched a little bit of the match against Alex…
Let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”
Alcaraz, after beating Fils at the Monte-Carlo Masters, went
on to lift the title. He defeated Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the
semifinal of the competition in straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-4. In the grand
finale, he got the better of Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, who was struggling
physically, with a score of 3-6, 6-1, 6-0.