2 things that stood out in Carlos Alcaraz's quarterfinal win over Grigor Dimitrov at Queen's Club
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz breezed past Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals of the Cinch Championships at The Queen's Club in London on Friday (June 23). The match was over within a couple of hours, as Alcaraz prevailed in straight sets (6-4, 6-4).
The World No. 2 will now face Sebastian Korda in the semi-final on Saturday. It will be a battle between two very talented youngsters and should prove to be an absorbing clash.
However, Alcaraz remains the favourite for the title as he looks in imperious form ahead of Wimbledon.
On that note, let us take a look at two things that stood out from Carlos Alcaraz's win over Grigor Dimitrov at the Cinch Championships.
#1. Grigor Dimitrov's early errors helped Carlos Alcaraz win the first set
Grigor Dimitrov started the match on a jittery note, hitting quite a few of his forehands long to gift Carlos Alcaraz a few points. As a result, the Spaniard broke him in the very first game of the match and then held his serve to lead 2-0.
The 32-year-old Bulgarian served really well thereafter and held his serve in the rest of the games. His straight serves often won him points as Alcaraz struggled to deal with them. However, he could not break the Spaniard, who held on to his lead to win the set.
Both players preferred to stay on the baseline for the most part and refrained from rushing the net in general. However, once the Spaniard won the first set, it was always going to be difficult for the Bulgarian to stop him from winning.
#2. The 2 players kept exchanging breaks in the second set
Grigor Dimitrov started the second set in emphatic style, breaking Carlos Alcaraz in the second game to take a 3-0 lead. However, Alcaraz bounced back and got the break of serve twice to win the next four of games.
The Bulgarian then broke back in the subsequent game to level the score at 4-4. However, the Spaniard got yet another break of serve in the next game and held his serve to seal the deal.
The Spaniard played the angles really well in the second set and also unleashed his inside-out and inside-in forehands to keep the pressure on the Bulgarian. Korda is in good form at the moment, but should find it considerably difficult to stop Alcaraz in the semifinal on Saturday.