Carlos Alcaraz and Felix Auger-Aliassime promise to give tennis many moments of glory. They are two portents of 19 and 22 years, with a level of mastery uncommon at this point in their career. They also have that rare virtue of reaching each ball and running for hours, which makes them a sight to behold. Thursday night's on Centre Court in Indian Wells was exactly that, with the feeling that this particular duel has only just begun. The fourth episode between the two fell on the side of the Spaniard, who for the second consecutive year gets into the semifinals of Indian Wells, two steps away from recovering the number one of the ATP ranking.

After three defeats against the Canadian coached by Toni Nadal, Alcaraz finally managed to add a victory. He did it in two sets, 6-4 and 6-4, in exactly two hours. It was another demonstration of the extraordinary level that crosses the tennis of Murcia. The precision of his volleys and leftovers bordered on perfection, with a very high pace of strokes from the bottom of the court.

It was clear from the beginning that it would be a display of virtuosity from both sides of the track, two huge athletes in full physical condition and with a voracious hunger for titles. Alcaraz's visible nerves in the first two games dissipated as he began to connect winners, both on the forehand and with his two-handed backhand.

Already in the third game he had forced a breaking ball in search of putting distance from the start in the first set. The Canadian resisted, as in the fifth game, again on his serve, in which he had to lift up to four break balls, backed by the power of his serve. It didn't take long for the match to grit its teeth, to become a sensational battle.

The momentary icing was put by the Murcian in the fifth breaking ball that he had in that game to return a backhand pass with a stratospheric cross right. The turning point was taken advantage of by Alcaraz to consolidate the break and get the first set on track (4-2).

The world number two made the Canadian, installed in the Top 10, sweat every serve. It was a perfect set except for the final hesitation, when nerves made him give up the only breaking ball of the partial that ended up closing 6-4 in an hour and two minutes. Halfway through.

Auger-Aliassime resented the blow. Two double faults and two unforced errors led to the break of the Spaniard without too much effort, although El Palmar did not take advantage of the moment of weakness of his rival. He gave up his serve for the first time and let the break ball escape on the next serve. He had departed.

After the slump the exchange of masterful points returned and the clash returned to balance, with the Canadian full of confidence again. It smelled like a long outcome, but with the 4-4, Alcaraz took advantage of the loophole to get break balls and take advantage of the third to leave the match seen for sentencing.

Saturday will face Italian Janik Sinner, the man he defeated in an epic quarterfinal match at last year's US Open, in the semi-finals. It will be a difficult hurdle to overcome his best result in Indian Wells after the defeat against Rafa Nadal in 2022. On the other side of the draw run Medveded and Tiafoe, which guarantees that there will be an unprecedented champion.

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