Carlos Alcaraz is now on a 10-match, 20-set winning streak after victory over Fritz in Miami
The 19-year-old is now two wins away from becoming the first teenager ever to win the Sunshine Double.
No teenager has ever won the Sunshine Double—no one has ever won the Sunshine Double without dropping a set, either.
Nineteen-year-old Carlos Alcaraz is closing in on both of those firsts after defeating American men's No. 1 Taylor Fritz, 6-4, 6-2, in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Thursday night.
Alcaraz has now won his last 10 matches—and 20 sets—in a row.
ALCARAZ SINCE THE START OF INDIAN WELLS (10-0):
d. Kokkinakis in Indian Wells 2nd Rd, 6-3, 6-3
d. Griekspoor in Indian Wells 3rd Rd, 7-6 (4), 6-3
d. Draper in Indian Wells 4th Rd, 6-2, 2-0 ret. (abdominal pain)
d. Auger-Aliassime in Indian Wells QFs, 6-4, 6-4
d. Sinner in Indian Wells SFs, 7-6 (4), 6-3
d. Medvedev in Indian Wells F, 6-3, 6-2
d, Bagnis in Miami 2nd Rd, 6-0, 6-2
d. Lajovic in Miami 3rd Rd, 6-0, 7-6 (5)
d. Paul in Miami 4th Rd, 6-4, 6-4
d. Fritz in Miami QFs, 6-4, 6-2
The youngest player ever to win the Sunshine Double is Michael Chang, who swept Indian Wells and Miami in 1992 at age 20 years and 1 month (Alcaraz is 19 years and 10 months).
The fewest sets lost en route to winning the Sunshine Double is one—Steffi Graf did it in 1994 and 1996, and Novak Djokovic in 2016.
In a first-time clash between Top 10 players, the No. 1-ranked Alcaraz set the tone very early, breaking the No. 10-ranked Fritz in the very first game of the match—the two then held serve from there until Alcaraz had the opening set in his pocket.
Alcaraz struck early again in the second set, breaking in the first game—they traded holds for the next five games before he broke one more time for a 5-2 lead, then served it out at love.
The match stats said it all: Alcaraz finished with 20 winners to 13 unforced errors, the most lethal part of his game being his forehand, which produced 11 winners to just 3 unforced errors.
“A little bit of nerves at the beginning—it was new for me playing against him, I had never played against him before,” Alcaraz said. “I knew I had to play my game, the way I was playing the previous matches, a high level for me. Of course I’m really happy with the way I started the match with no mistakes and with a lot of power.
“It was a key for me to break serve at the beginning.”
Awaiting Alcaraz in the semifinals will be Jannik Sinner, who won his quarterfinal on Wednesday against Emil Ruusuvuori, 6-3, 6-1.
Alcaraz leads Sinner in their head-to-head, 3-2. The two just played in the semifinals of Indian Wells two weeks ago, where the Spaniard prevailed in a tight two-setter, 7-6 (4), 6-3.