Carlos Alcaraz advances to semifinals after defeating Karen Khachanov

No. 2 seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain expanded his perfect record to 4-0 against No. 7 seed Karen Khachanov in a hard-hitting 7-5, 6-2 match in the quarterfinals of the China Open on Monday. With the win, Alcaraz moves up to No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, surpassing Alexander Zverev.

Through most of the match, neither player seemed able to gain momentum. However, Alcaraz consistently appeared calm as he frustrated Khachanov by pushing him all over the court.

“I tried to put pressure in every point, in every return,” Alcaraz said in a post-match press conference. “In the second set I put myself in the position to attack all the time.”

The match began tightly contested. Early on, it was clear that Alcaraz was going to try to attack Khachanov. The Spaniard’s signature winners weren’t coming, though, and Khachanov won his early service games. Alcaraz finally broke Khachanov’s serve in the fifth game, seeming to gain some energy. But a costly double fault by Alcaraz helped Khachanov break serve in the sixth game.

With the set tied at 4-4, Alcaraz and Khachanov traded winners and went to deuce eight times before Khachanov won the electrifying ninth game. Unfazed, Alcaraz rallied to win his next two serves and break Khachanov’s serve to win the set.

“It helped me, that [ninth] game, into the next ones,” Alcaraz said. “I could make the break probably because I'm always there putting some returns in, playing good points, taking the most of the chances that he brings to me.”

The second set began much like the first, as both Khachanov and Alcaraz dominated their early service games. Alcaraz again broke Khachanov’s serve in the fifth game and this time didn’t look back as he calmly placed his following serves to perfection. Khachanov appeared to anger himself with more misplaced shots. Meanwhile, Alcaraz extended his lead by winning the next two games and then sealed the set win by holding the eighth game at love.

The 21-year-old Spanish sensation will advance to play familiar opponent No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. Both players, along with defending champion Jannik Sinner, are back in the China Open semifinals for the second year in a row.

“When he's in the zone, he's probably the best player in the world, tough to play him,” Medvedev said of Alcaraz on Monday. “I feel like now he's in the zone. So it [is a] great test for me.”

Alcaraz boasts a 5-2 record against the 28-year-old, winning their matches this year at Indian Wells and Wimbledon.

—Reporting by Reade Snelling