MADRID, 17 (EUROPA PRESS)
Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz, who on Saturday defeated German Alexander Zverev (6-4, 6-3) to advance to the final of the Cincinnati tournament, the seventh ATP Masters 1000 of the season, has stated that he is "ready" and "eager" to face "the challenge" of playing against Italian Jannik Sinner.
"I'm really looking forward to playing him again," he said after the match, recalling his four-set loss to the Italian in their last meeting at Wimbledon. "We raised our level to the maximum and brought some really beautiful tennis to the match. I'm ready for the challenge. I'm ready to look at the mistakes I made in the last match and try to improve on that aspect on Monday," he said.
The Murcia native advanced to the final of his seventh consecutive tournament this Saturday against an opponent hampered by physical discomfort. "Happy for the final but sad for Sascha. I wish you the best," he wrote in the winner's signature on television after the match. "It's never easy to play against someone you know isn't at 100 percent. It's even harder when it's Sascha, a great player and a great person off the court. We have a very good relationship," he added.
He also analyzed the match's progress. "We started the match very well, with good rallies and a good level of tennis. But suddenly he started to feel unwell. And then my concentration faded; I was thinking about how he felt, instead of focusing on myself and playing good tennis. It was a very difficult situation for me, and I only wish him the best," he concluded.
