Semi-finals: Alcaraz delivers on his promise

Some players make statements. Carlos Alcaraz backs them up.

Just hours after arriving in Paris fresh from a brilliant title run in Vienna, where he captured the 28th trophy of his career, the Spaniard had spoken confidently about his chances in the French capital. During his media day appearance at the Plenitude Arena, he addressed questions surrounding his lack of notable results at the season’s final Masters 1000 event.

"I'm sure that sooner or later I’ll have a great run at this tournament," he said. What nobody knew at the time was that, in Alcaraz's mind, "sooner or later" actually meant right now.

Imperious and efficient

A first-round bye and Matteo Berrettini's withdrawal from the round of 16 due to an elbow injury meant Alcaraz arrived in the latter stages having spent little time on the Paris hard courts. That did not stop him from making his mark.

After a solid opening victory against Alex Michelsen, he produced one of the matches of the tournament to overturn Taylor Fritz despite facing two match points. The comeback rekindled some of the most memorable moments from his long-standing love affair with the French crowd and suggested even greater things were to come.

Casper Ruud discovered exactly that on Saturday. Despite losing six of their previous seven meetings, the Norwegian delivered another excellent performance in what was his first Paris semi-final. Consistent and efficient throughout his campaign, he resisted Alcaraz's first two break opportunities at 1-1 and 2-2. But with the first set delicately poised, the Spaniard struck in the seventh game. A perfectly timed break handed him the initiative and ultimately the set, 6-4 after 46 minutes.

Alcaraz was almost untouchable behind serve. He won 78 per cent of points on his first delivery and an outstanding 86 per cent on his second, while seven forehand winners repeatedly brought the crowd to its feet.

The second set followed a remarkably similar pattern. With both players serving comfortably and producing clean, high-quality tennis punctuated by flashes of brilliance, a tie-break appeared increasingly likely as they reached 4-4. But Alcaraz had other ideas. The seven-time Grand Slam champion seized his opportunity late in the set, converting his second break point of the stanza before serving out a 6-4, 6-4 victory in just 86 minutes.

Clinical when it mattered most, flawless on serve and considerably more proactive than his opponent, Alcaraz stormed into the sixth final of his season, the 11th Masters 1000 final of his career and the 38th tour-level final overall.

Awaiting him on Sunday will be Ben Shelton, the man with whom he contested one of the matches of the season in the quarter-finals of the US Open. Neither player has forgotten that extraordinary encounter.

"I'm really happy and very proud," Alcaraz told ATP Media after the match.

"This tournament has always been difficult for me. Before this year, I'd never managed to go beyond the quarter-finals. It's been a strange season, a different one for me, and arriving at this stage of the year feeling fresher, ambitious, hungry and excited to play tournaments and compete in a lot of matches is a great feeling.

"I'm happy to be in the final. I can't wait and I'll prepare for it as well as possible. I really want my revenge. The last time I played Ben was an incredible and difficult match. I'll need to be better in the big moments than I was at the US Open."

Let's hope their reunion lives up to the hype.