Distraught Alcaraz felt like ‘a thirteen-year-old’ during defeat in Miami | Tennis

Twenty-year-old Alcaraz immediately handed in his own service in the first set. The 32-year-old Dimitrov, number twelve in the world, eliminated three break points in the following game. Alcaraz’s last service game was also a prey for the Bulgarian.

In the second set, Alcaraz showed more resilience by overcoming a break deficit. When trailing 4-5, the global number two still capitulated. Dimitrov finished it off with his first match point after more than an hour and a half of play.

“He made me feel like I was thirteen years old,” Alcaraz said at the press conference afterwards. “It was crazy. I told my coaching team that I had no idea what to do. I don’t know what his weak point is. That’s why I’m a little frustrated right now.”

Dimitrov will face fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals. He defeated the Hungarian Fábián Marozsán in the quarter-finals in two sets: 6-3 and 7-5. The other semi-final is between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev.