Alcaraz sweeps past Draper to advance to semifinals at Italian Open

Third-seeded Carlos Alcaraz of Spain overcame fifth seed Jack Draper of Britain 6-4, 6-4 in the men's singles quarterfinals at the Italian Open in Rome, Italy, on Wednesday, advancing to the last four at the clay-court tournament.

Alcaraz was made to work hard on serve, and saved six of the eight break points against Draper, who beat him in March. After withdrawing from the Madrid Open due to an upper right leg problem that bothered him during the Barcelona Open final, the Spaniard moved well on the court, scrambled to the net often, and used his trademark drop shots and groundstrokes to their best effect.

After Alcaraz rallied from a 4-2 deficit to grab the first set, a definitive turning point came in the eighth game of the second, when Draper looked like he might force a decider. The game lasted almost 10 minutes, and the World No. 3 saved two break points before coming out on top. The Spaniard then broke his opponent to love in the next game, en route to sealing the win.

"The most important thing that I did today was not thinking about the shots at all," Alcaraz said. "Not thinking about the fact that I was down, just trying to do the things that make me happy. On court, I just tried to be aggressive, play good shots, drop shots, go to the net. That's what I like to do on the court, and I think that made the difference today."

Alcaraz will next face eighth-seeded home hope Lorenzo Musetti.

Meanwhile, sixth-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway beat Jaume Munar of Spain in a round of 16 match that was postponed due to rain. Ruud built an early 4-1 lead in the opening set before claiming the frame 6-3. He maintained his momentum in the second, breaking Munar again to complete the sweep 6-4.

Ruud will face home favorite and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals.