Carlos Alcaraz did not have things all his own way on Friday against Arthur Fils, but found a way to reach the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters semi-final for the first time.<\/p>\n
Following his hard-fought three-set win, the Spaniard reflected on his champion mindset.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that real champions find the right level when it’s needed,\u201d Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. \u201cObviously I would love to play a high level on my best tennis from the beginning until the last ball, but I think in tennis we play for two hours and a half, so it is the most difficult thing to do to maintain your best tennis.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen it’s needed, it’s great to find the good tennis. I would love to play a good tennis the whole match, but sometimes I’m playing against an opponent who is playing better and you have to accept it and run and fight.\u201d<\/p>\n
Alcaraz has become a seasoned champion in the early stages of his historic career. A four-time major titlist, the 21-year-old Spaniard is chasing his sixth ATP Masters 1000 trophy this week.<\/p>\n
However, for all his success at the top of the game, this week\u2019s run in Monte-Carlo is unknown territory for Alcaraz. The Spaniard is making just his second appearance in The Principality, having lost in the opening round to Sebastian Korda in 2022.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am still super young and I am going to live new experiences to learn about [them], but I feel like I know how to deal with situations that probably other players don’t. It is my second time [playing] here and to be able to play a semi-final for the first time makes me grow up as a player, as a person, living new experiences,\u201d Alcaraz said. \u201cEvery match is new, it is different and we have to learn from the matches that I’m playing here.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Spaniard will face countryman and former finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semi-finals on Saturday. Alcaraz revealed that he is close friends with the 25-year-old but will put that relationship to the side when they meet for the second time in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe invited me to his wedding. He’s a friend,\u201d Alcaraz said on Davidovich Fokina. \u201cWe have seen each other for a long time already. He used to play with my old brother when they were younger.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know him pretty well. I’ve played against him a few times. Hit with him a lot. So it’s going to be interesting. It’s not going to be easy, never easy playing against a friend, but this is tennis. Once you step on the court, there are no friends.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Spaniard is into the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classifiee-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n