After the stammering start against Arthur Rinderknech, Carlos Alcaraz has not stopped taking steps forward at Queen's. He beat Jiri Lehecka convincingly and began to believe in his chances of taking the title. It is only his third competition on grass, after playing the last two editions of Wimbledon. In the quarterfinals he beat Grigor Dimitrov, 26th in the world, coming from the previous phase for delaying his registration, 6-4 and 6-4 and this Saturday (around 4:00 p.m., Movistar) he will seek the final against Sebastian Korda of the tournament. Holger Rune and Alex de Miñaur will meet in the other semifinal.

Dimitrov, champion of the tournament in 2014, already knew first-hand how his rival spends them, having defeated him in their two matches, the most recent in the past Masters in Madrid. The grass was supposed to equalize the forces a bit, but Alcaraz broke in the opening game, taking advantage of two double faults and two other unforced errors from the Bulgarian.

Dimitrov's natural conditions make it easier for him to function freely on this surface. Good server, with flat impacts, finesse for sliced blows and skill at the net, the one who was a Wimbledon semifinalist, also in 2014, maintains, at 32, at least the ways that led him to go through number three in the world and win the ATP Finals.

fast learning

Alcaraz observes and learns with the speed that characterizes him. He knows the revaluation of each point, of each detail, in a field that penalizes more than any other. Hence the importance of closing the door on his opponent in the seventh game, when he tried to balance the score with three break options.. Very successful with the service and sensible in all his behavior, he made the only break good to take the first set.

Unlike the Murcian, Dimitrov was not able to manage the advantage acquired in the second set. He escaped 3-0, but his arm trembled and he saw the gap he had opened thanks to one of those irrepressible outpourings of aggressiveness and talent sutured. He made the rubber and hinted at the possibility of renewing his threat. It didn't matter that Alcaraz gave up his service; he conceded ad nauseam next.

A little over a week before the start of Wimbledon, the Spaniard appears in his first semifinal on grass and is two victories away from recovering the number 1 lost at Roland Garros after losing in the semifinals against Novak Djokovic. He has beaten Korda in two of his three matches, none of which took place on grass. “Dimitrov is a great player on any surface, but even more so on grass, where he feels the ball very well. I played well from the first to the last ball. The previous two games have helped me,” said the Spaniard at the foot of the court.