Alcaraz tidies his game to hit Monte Carlo quarters

Carlos Alcaraz needed some clay-court  “cleanup on aisle five” to clinch the 6-3, 6-1 defeat of Daniel Altmaier which took the Spaniard into the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday.

The second seed tidied his game after he and his qualifying opponent produced a cumulative 44 unforced errors in the opening set at the Country Club.

He cut his early total of 25 down the eight in the second set as he swept to his second win in two days at the event.

Alcaraz will play for the semi-finals on Friday against Frenchman Arthur Fils, who advanced 6-2, 6-3 with a defeat of Andrey Rublev, the 2023 tournament champion.

Alcaraz needed 85 minutes and five breaks of serve to impose his game on German Altmaier.”It was more difficult than the score looks,” the winner said. “He is a solid clay player and was playing great. “I had to battle in the first set and played more aggressive in the second. I took my chances, but it wasn’t easy

“I’m just happy to be on clay again, I’ve had a good season so far. But clay is the surface I grew up on. It’s good to feel it again.”

Alcaraz improved to 14-1 on the surface since last May when he won Roland Garros before taking the Olympic silver medal at the same iconic Paris venue.

He will be playing his 16th Masters 1000 quarter-final and his fourth on clay after three at home in Madrid.