Carlos Alcaraz Blames Schedule After Edging Karen Khachanov to Reach Italian Open Quarterfinals for 1st Time

Carlos Alcaraz has now reached the quarterfinals of all the nine Masters 1000 events after moving past Karen Khachanov.

Carlos Alcaraz Blames Schedule After Edging Karen Khachanov to Reach Italian Open Quarterfinals for 1st Time

Carlos Alcaraz (Image via Instagram/Carlos Alcaraz)

Carlos Alcaraz, not typically an early riser, faced an 11 a.m. local time start in his fourth-round match against Karen Khachanov at the Italian Open. Despite the early hour, Alcaraz managed to secure a hard-fought victory in a match that extended to a deciding set and lasted over two hours. Following the win, he expressed a preference for later match times in the future, acknowledging the challenges of early starts.

Alcaraz, who made 29 unforced errors to Khachanov’s 17, took a 5-0 lead in the head-to-head encounter against the Russian. He became a quarterfinalist in Rome for the first time, which made him the first Spaniard since 10-time tournament champion Rafael Nadal in 2021 to progress to the last eight in the Italian capital. The youngster has now also advanced to every quarterfinal of the nine Masters 1000 events.

I’m not used to playing at 11 a.m. Honestly, I don’t like getting up early, but today (Tuesday) I had to. Anyway, I had to find the positives of finishing early. I have a lot of time to recover, a lot of time to do other things here in Rome.

Carlos Alcaraz said at the press conference

The four-time Grand Slam champion is chasing his third title of the season following the Rotterdam Open and the Monte Carlo Masters, which Alcaraz won by beating Alex de Minaur and Lorenzo Musetti, respectively. Next, he will face Jack Draper for the sixth time in his career and the second time this season after the Australian Open and Indian Wells.

Alcaraz clinched the win in the last 16 in Melbourne he played against the Brit but failed to overcome him when they met in the semifinals of Indian Wells. After beating the World No.3, the 23-year-old defeated Holger Rune to lift the biggest title of his career.

Carlos Alcaraz quotes a line from the movie 300 after beating Karen Khachanov

After his victory over Karen Khachanov, Carlos Alcaraz, on camera, wrote a message from the 2006 movie 300. The movie is about the ancient battle of Thermopylae between King Leonidas, his 300 Spartans and the Persian ruler Xerxes.

Carlos Alcaraz (5)
Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Tennis Panorama News)

Tennis fans are wondering what it’s all about. He wrote the message in Spanish, “Las flechas ocultaran el sol, pues lucharemos a la sombra.”

The arrows will hide in the sun, for we will fight in the shade.

The English translation of the message

The Italian Open is Alcaraz’s first tournament since the Barcelona Open as he skipped the Madrid Open because of an injury he suffered during the final against Holger Rune in Barcelona. He had skipped the Italian Masters last year because of an injury.

Carlos Alcaraz is eyeing the No.2 ranking

Alcaraz currently stands in the third position in the ATP rankings and is second in the live rankings, above Alexander Zverev. The German ace is the defending champion in Rome and if he fails to lift the title, Alcaraz will reclaim his second position on the rankings table. Alcaraz needs just two more wins than Zverev to start the next week as a World No.2 player.

Carlos Alcaraz Barcelona Open 2025
Carlos Alcaraz (via Instagram/ Carlos Alcaraz)

Zverev went past Arthur Fils in the last 16 in Rome to schedule a match against 2024 Paris Olympics bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti. If Alcaraz is successful in toppling the three-time Grand Slam finalist in the rankings table, he will be the second seed at Roland Garros and will avoid a semifinal clash with World No.1 Jannik Sinner, who he is projected to meet in the Rome Open final.

But before that, Alcaraz could set up a clash with the German if both of them reach the semifinals. If they are pitted against each other, it will be their 12th encounter on the tour. The 28-year-old edges Alcaraz 6-5 in the head-to-head matchups.

Also read: Emma Raducanu Makes ‘Hide in Hole’ Comment After Being ‘Outplayed’ by Coco Gauff in Rome