Streaks of skid marks traced Carlos Alcaraz's trek to his maiden Monte-Carlo final.
Dispensing dynamic movement and damaging drives down the line, Alcaraz conquered compatriot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 7-6(2), 6-4 to charge into the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters title match.
A tough Davidovich Fokina, who saved 16 of 19 break points in the match, fought off four match points to hold for 4-5 in the second set and force his friend to serve it out.
Answering the call, Alcaraz cashed in his sixth match point with a fiery forehand.
"I think today was the best match that I have played so far in this tournament," Alcaraz told the media in Monte-Carlo. "I think I didn't let him, you know, dominate the game or come back to the match.
"I just put my good tennis during the whole match, really constant level, so I just really happy that I did it today."
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz will face Lorenzo Musetti in tomorrow's final.
The 13th-seeded Musetti out-dueled eighth-seeded Alex de Minaur 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) battlinng into his maiden Masters 1000 final. Musetti served for the final at 5-3, but de Minaur broke back at 15.
Serving at 5-6, 30-all, Musetti slammed an ace down the T that helped him hold to force the tiebreaker.
Alcaraz carries a 5-1 record in Masters 1000 finals into his seventh Masters 1000 championship match.
The 21-year-old Alcaraz advanced to his 23rd Tour-level final and first since he won Rotterdam in February.
Despite over-hitting at times today and his sometime struggle to convert break points, Alcaraz continues to find his comfort zone on dirt. The explosive Spaniard is 16-1 on clay since May with his lone dirt loss coming to Novak Djoknovic in the Paris Olympics gold-medal match staged at Roland Garros.
In the first all-Spanish semifinal in Monte-Carlo since 2010 when Rafael Nadal topped David Ferrer, Alcaraz came out in free flow.
Repelling his opponent’s drop shot with an angled dropper of his own, Alcaraz slid a backhand volley down the line drawing first break blood in the second game.
Rallying from love-30 down, Alcaraz backed up the break for a 3-0 lead.
Two games later, Davidovich Fokina again earned love-30. Alcaraz netted a backhand and Davidovich Fokina torched a forehand down the line breaking back for 2-3.
Launching himself above the court, Alcaraz detonated a flying forehand down the line then exploited his opponent’s double fault for double break point.
Deploying the drop shot and pass combination, Alcaraz broke again for 4-2.
Both men are exceptional movers. An attacking Alcaraz bent low for a forehand volley winner confirming for 5-2.
Showing guts under set-point pressure, Davidovich Fokina fended off a couple of set points—including knifing a slick backhand volley winner—churning through a six-minute hold in the eighth game.
The world No. 42 fought off a third set point when Alcaraz went all-in on a forehand down the line. Davidovich Fokina broke back with a shout for 4-5 as Alcaraz’s unforced error count was piling up.
The two-time Wimbledon winner stamped a solid hold to snap a three-game slide and edge ahead 6-5.
Lacing his second ace down the T, Davidovich Fokina forced the tiebreaker.
Elevating his play, Alcaraz went up 4-0. Davidovich Fokina jerked the second seed side to side only to yank a forehand sitter long as Alcaraz went up 5-1.
Throwing down two heavy serves, Alcaraz converted his fourth set point—29 minutes after his initial set point—to close a complicated set in 65 minutes. The pair combined for 42 unforced errors in a set of momentum shifts.
The fact the pair are good friends and sometimes practice partners infused Alcaraz with a comfort level despite some squandered break point opportunities.
"Probably you can play a little bit calmer, because you know him," Alcaraz said after improving to 13-0 vs. fellow Spaniards since losing to Rafael Nadal at the 2022 Indian Wells. "You know his level. You know the things he's going to do in some way.
"So you can predict sometimes, you know, what shot he's gonna make. So that makes a little bit easier playing against someone that I know pretty good.
"But in some other way, it's difficult, because the friendship we have off the court is really good. Playing against a friend or, yeah, having that battle against a friend, you know, for a final in a Masters 1000 sometimes can be tricky. But I just really happy to stay away from that friendship and just being a little bit selfish and thinking about myself."
An empowered Alcaraz converted his fourth break point to start the second set with the break.
Hammering heavy forehand returns, Alcaraz earned 10 break points total in Davidovich Fokina’s first two service games of the second set. But the man in the canary colored shorts made a strong stand saving six break points to hold in the third game.
On his fifth match point, Alcarz nudged a backhand dropper into net before sealing it with a flashy forehand.