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U.S. Open champion Alcaraz got off to a flying
start, forcing the Canadian to save four break points before
landing an inch-perfect forehand winner to break for a 3-2 lead
in the opening set.
Auger-Aliassime grew into the match in the second set as the
pair traded early breaks but Alcaraz was able to ramp up the
pressure and take a 5-4 lead following an errant backhand from
his opponent.
The 19-year-old Spaniard served out the set to secure a first
win over Auger-Aliassime and make the semi-finals of the
tournament for a second straight year.
"My goal today was to stay in it, and I played probably one of
my best matches this season, so I'm really happy," Alcaraz said.
"He has a great first serve, and this is the first time I broke
his serve, so I'm happy with that. I'm looking forward to
playing Sinner again, we've had some great battles."
Sinner, 21, was sharp from the outset in his match against
American Fritz, riding an early service break and fending off a
break point to take the first set behind his solid baseline
game.
Fourth seed Fritz responded in the second, breaking Sinner on
set point with a backhand winner that brought the crowd to their
feet.
An exchange of breaks kicked off the third and Fritz smacked a
forehand winner for a 4-3 lead but 11th seed Sinner took control
from there.
He leveled at 4-4 with an athletic overhead, broke for a 5-4
advantage and blasted a serve Fritz could not handle on match
point, the American's backhanded return sailing long to end the
engrossing contest in the Southern California desert.
"I just tried to play quite aggressively, which I've done," said
Sinner, who booked his first semi-final at the Masters 1000
tournament.
"I'm obviously very happy about the performance. Playing against
Taylor is never easy. I lost against him two years ago here. He
loves the conditions here so I'm very happy that I found a way
today."
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles, additional reporting
by Aadi Nair; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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