Carlos Alcaraz reacts to what Jiri Lehecka said about him following their US Open quarter-final

Carlos Alcaraz was in an unstoppable mood last night, as he demolished Jiri Lehecka to reach the US Open semi-finals.

It marked the continuation of a rampant run of form, which has seen him cruise into this round without dropping a set.

However, with Novak Djokovic next up, that record will certainly be tested.

Given the way he is playing though, it genuinely feels like it will take an almighty, otherworldly level to stop him.

Lehecka didn’t even play poorly. He just got torn apart by Carlos Alcaraz from start to finish.

He was naturally effusive in his praise for the Spaniard in his post-match analysis, and the 2022 US Open champion has since reacted to this adulation.

Carlos Alcaraz reacts to Jiri Lehecka praise

With Lehecka stating that he met ‘the Grand Slam version of Carlos’, those kind words were put to Alcaraz in his press conference.

He admitted: “It feels great hearing those words from my opponent today. I am playing great and feeling comfortable. I think today I played an almost perfect match, I would say.

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“So playing a quarter-final of a Grand Slam and feeling that way, it seems like just two more steps to do, and let’s see what happens. I am just feeling great and hungry to make it.”

Then asked about his serve, which Alcaraz described as his ‘big weapon’ that he’d been specifically working on, he continued: “I have been improving my serve a lot. Every match and practice, I have been trying to feel more comfortable with the movement, with hitting good serves and the percentage as well for me is really important.

“Tennis is really hard sometimes because one day you can serve really, really well and the next match you can feel completely different and really bad.

“I am just trying to maintain the focus on the serve and just trying to do everything the same and getting the good feeling.

“So far the serve has been really important to me, to my game, and hopefully it will keep improving and keep feeling better with it.”

Carlos Alcaraz faces Novak Djokovic in US Open semi-final

When the US Open draw first came out, this was the potential clash that people pointed out before the final: Alcaraz reigniting his rivalry with Novak Djokovic.

After all, despite the huge gulf in age, these two have played out some of the most extraordinary matches of the last few years, with both recording famous wins over one another.

Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Despite the youngster’s dominance this year, it’s ironically the Serbian who has enjoyed the most recent triumphs in this head-to-head, beating him in Melbourne earlier this year, and in the final of the Olympics last summer.

However, it seems impossible to bet against Alcaraz when he is in such mesmeric form.

Regardless, the US Open fans are guaranteed a spectacle, with the winner expected to be gifted the task of facing the defending champion Jannik Sinner in the final.

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