Carlos Alcaraz beat Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-0, 7-6(5) in the third round of the 1,000 Masters in Miami this Monday morning and will face American Tommy Paul, the executioner on Sunday afternoon, in the round of 16 by Alexander Davidovich. The Murcian got his second game in white in his second duel of a tournament that he must win to continue as number 1.
It is the fourth victory in four matches for Alcaraz over Lajovic. The Serbian has been much more of a rival than the Argentine Facundo Bagnis, managing to create problems for the Spaniard in a second set that he managed to lead to the tiebreaker, although at no time has he had any real chance of winning.
Alcaraz has matched the statistic for the most sets won in Masters 1,000 before Rafa Nadal's 20th birthday, with four.
Alcaraz's duel with Paul will be next Tuesday. The North American is one of the most fit tennis players on the circuit and it is the case that he has won his last twelve matches against Spanish tennis players.
