British Sensation, Jack Draper Loses To Carlos Alcaraz In Italian Open Quarter-finals

 

Carlos Alcaraz reaches his first Italian Open semi-finals, eliminating Jack Draper

British tennis sensation, Jack Draper, lost out in a hard-fought quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz in the Italian Open in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. The Spaniard withstood the pressure from Draper to progress to the semi-finals in his contest for his first Masters 1000 in Rome. 

Carlos returned to the court after suffering an injury in the Barcelona Open final, which he lost to Holger Rune. He dropped his first set since his return against Karen Khachanov in his previous match and had to rally from 2-4 in the first set to outperform the Briton. 

Draper was on course for the breeze through the opening set after breaking twice for a 2-4 lead. Alacraz rallied by breaking twice for a 5-4 lead and saved a break at 15/40 to claim the set point. 

"I played with such a high rhythm during the whole match and didn't let him dominate in the rallies," said the Spaniard. "I'm really proud how I approached the match."

The Brit was in a 2-1 lead after winning his second break in the second set, but allowed the Spaniard to rally, saving a break and progressing to win as Draper forced a forehand. The Englishman found himself in a difficult situation responding to his opponent's drop shots and committed unforced errors too often to hand his opponent an opportunity for a rally. 

Alacarz will be making his first semi-final appearance in Rome. If he reaches the final, he will encounter players like Alexander Zverev, Musetti, Casper Ruud, or Jannik Sinner in the remaining rounds.