Western & Southern Open: Carlos Alcaraz beats Max Purcell to reach the Semis 

Carlos Alcaraz earned a hard-fought victory by coming back from a set down to beat Max Purcell  4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and 11 minutes. on Friday in the quarter-finals in Cincinnati.

After clawing past Jordan Thompson and Tommy Paul in deciding sets in his first two rounds, the World No. 1 survived another three-set test at the Western & Southern Open, when he ended Australian qualifier Max Purcell’s dream run in Cincinnati.

“It was really tough. It was tricky today. He served really well. I think he played well at the net, but I think I played well. I returned well on court and that was the key to getting the win today, to return very well and to focus,” Alcaraz said. “It was not easy but I am really, really happy to reach my seventh Masters 1000 semi-final and first here in Cincinnati.”

“It was a tough match in Toronto,” Alcaraz said. “He is playing great tennis here and the court is a little bit faster than Toronto, so it is probably better for his game with his big serve. I need to be focused on return to put as much as I can in court.”

The 20-year-old Alcaraz is chasing a double prize this week in Cincinnati, where the battle for No. 1 is alive. If the Spaniard advances to his eighth final of the season, he is guaranteed to remain atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for a 34th week on Monday. If he fails to reach the championship match, Novak Djokovic would regain top spot by winning the title. The Serbian plays Taylor Fritz in the last eight.