Carlos Alcaraz is one step closer to reaching the Miami Open finals…

The 19-year-old Spanish tennis player, the World No. 1 and top-ranked man at this year’s tournament, defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-2 at Hard Rock Stadium to blast into the semifinals.

Before a packed crowd that included John McEnroe and was split in support, Alcaraz broke Fritz’s serve in the first game. He used that one break to squeak out the first set and finished the match in tidy 1 hour, 18 minutes. Alcaraz faced just two break points and turned away both chances as he improved his match record to 18-1 in 2023.

“I took the opportunity of every break point I had,” Alcaraz said. “I was solid and aggressive at the same time.”

This was the first meeting between the two and an opportunity for Fritz to assess how close he is to a breakthrough. The match was postponed Wednesday night, only delaying the inevitable.

“Obviously playing the best player in the world, you can’t just drop your serve to start both sets,” Fritz said. “He doesn’t give you much for free. … All the important points in the match, he won.”

Alcaraz proved too tough in Miami against two Americans who reside in South Florida. Fritz moved recently to Miami and Tommy Paul has lived in the Delray Beach/Boca Raton area for years.

The reigning US Open champion and defending Miami Open champion will play Jannik Sinner in Friday’s semifinals, a rematch of their semifinal at Indian Wells, where Alcaraz went on to win the title.