Carlos Alcaraz beats Jiri Lehecka to enter US Open semifinals

World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz bested Jiri Lehecka by 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinal of the ongoing US Open on Tuesday in New York. Alcaraz is yet to drop a set in the New York Major, but he was challenged by the Czech, and the win was not as straightforward as the final scoreline might suggest.

Alcaraz came up with a solid performance and answered Lehecka’s every shot with aplomb. The Spaniard came up with a strong baseline game and won the crucial points in the match. In fact, the Czech could not create any break point opportunities on Alcaraz’s serve.

The number two seed said he doesn’t watch his own game’s highlights but sometimes his brother puts it on the TV.

“I’m not, but sometimes when I go to the living room, my little brothers are watching my highlights, so I just sit down and watch them,” Alcaraz said with a smile when asked if he watches back his hot shots. “Everytime I watch my shots again, it reminds me [during] matches.”

The 22-year-old was able to wrap up the contest in one hour and, 56-minute to advance to the semifinal of the New York Major. If Alcaraz wins his next two games and goes all the way in the US Open, he will leapfrog Jannik Sinner from the numero uno position in the PIF ATP rankings. However, the Spaniard said he doesn’t want to think too much about the rankings as it would put undue pressure on him.

“If I think about the No. 1 spot too much, I’m going to put pressure on myself, and I just don’t want to do that,” Alcaraz said. “I just want to step on court, try to do my things, follow my goals and try to enjoy as much as I can. The No. 1 [spot] is there, but I try to not think about it too much.”

Alcaraz will face Novak Djokovic on Friday in the semifinal contest.