BARCELONA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Top seed and home favorite Carlos Alcaraz will play Holger Rune in the final of the Barcelona Open on Sunday after beating seventh-seeded Arthur Fils of France 6-2, 6-4 on Saturday.
Fils had taken Alcaraz to three sets in the quarterfinals of the recent Monte Carlo Open, including winning the opening set, but this time the Spaniard was in no mood for a repeat and began the match by dominating his French opponent and racing to win the first set 6-2.
Alcaraz had to work harder in the second set but with the support of the fans in Barcelona, he closed out the match,despite two double faults in the final game.
"It was a complete performance from start to finish with no ups and downs in my performance. It was windy, but I knew what shots to take in every moment," Alcaraz told Spanish TV network RTVE afterward,expressing his satisfaction being able to play in Barcelona.
"It is a privilege to be here, we travel all year, and it is very special for a tennis player to be able to perform in front of their fans and get a lot of love when I come here," he said.
Alcaraz will face Denmark's Holger Rune after the sixth seed advanced to the final earlier in the day with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Karen Khachanov, who is ranked 27th in the world.
Rune found his form in the middle of the first set, winning seven consecutive games to go from 2-3 down to claim the first set and take a decisive 3-0 lead in the second against his Russian opponent. Enditem
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