Carlos Alcaraz says what Andrey Rublev did on serve against him in Cincinnati which was very different to usual

Carlos Alcaraz has booked his place in the semifinals at the Cincinnati Open following his victory over ninth seed Andrey Rublev.

The Spaniard was forced to a third set by Rublev, but managed to emerge victorious in the end and seal his 17th top 20 win of the season, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

After Alcaraz’s defeat in the Wimbledon final, he has bounced back during the North American hard-court swing and will now face Alexander Zverev in the final four.

His triumph over the Russian did not come without its difficulties, however, which the world number two touched on after the clash.

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Carlos Alcaraz reacts to Andrey Rublev’s unusual serving tactic

Speaking to Tennis Channel after the match, Alcaraz said: “Today was a really close match. I mean, I think Rublev played such great tennis.

“With the first serve, he was serving great, and then in the second set, he used his serve a little bit slower, which I had more time to hit the ball better or just to be in position to attack.

“But I think today he just increased the speed a little bit and the reliability of the second serve as well, which was a bit more tricky to return it.

“In general I am really happy with the way I played and moved. I thought I hit the ball really well against a great ball striker like Andrey.

“It was about the details. In the third set serving for the match, I couldn’t close the match, and I was happy to stay there, mentally strong, with positive thoughts and then got the win.”

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Andrey Rublev’s serving statistics against Carlos Alcaraz

Rublev tallied 11 aces in his bout with Alcaraz, and has a first serve percentage of 62%, which was matched by his opponent.

On his first serve, the world number 11 won 73% of points, while totalling a win percentage of 61% on his second serve.

Rublev Statistic Alcaraz 11 Aces 11 8 Double Faults 4 62% First Serve Percentage 62% 73% Win % On First Serve 75% 61% Win % On Second Serve 59% 2/2 Break Points 4/6 Andrey Rublev’s serving statistics compared with Carlos Alcaraz’s in their Cincinnati clash

Alcaraz had six break-point opportunities on Rublev’s serve and was able to capitalise on four of them.

The 27-year-old managed to take care of the two break points that came his way, but ultimately could not get over the line against the five-time major champion.

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