Carlos Alcaraz swept past Lorenzo Musetti in the Round of 16 at the ATP China Open to secure his place in the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-2 victory.

World No. 2 Alcaraz faced qualifier Yannick Hanfmann in the first round of the ATP 500 event, defeating the World No. 53 in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3. Meanwhile, World No. 18 Musetti moved past newly-crowned Zhuhai championships victor Karen Khachanov with more difficulty, losing the second set before coming back in the decider to win 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.

The Italian led their head-to-head 1-0 ahead of this match, having ousted the two-time Grand Slam champion in the final of the 2022 Hamburg Open after a three-set battle. However, today could not have been more different with Alcaraz confidently controlling the match throughout.

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Alcaraz saves some incredible points to ensure victory

The Spaniard made it clear that he was on form today with an early break in the first set giving him a 2-1 lead. He then went on to ace his opponent in the first point of his service game but Musetti did put up some of a fight by contributing to some thrilling rallies. He concluded one of these with a solid drop shot that earned him the point.

Nevertheless, Alcaraz was able to demonstrate some incredible pick-ups in these rallies and stayed firm to efficiently secure the double break. As the 20-year-old attained a 5-1 lead, Musetti managed to get another game on the board as he held his serve 40-0 in an attempt to show his opponent that he was still somewhat in the match.

However, this was not enough to stage a comeback despite the 21-year-old achieving a break point in Alcaraz's next service game. Musetti then hit the ball out twice to give the former World No. 1 advantage and set point, which Alcaraz secured by sending his opponent running and ultimately causing him to hit the ball into the net.

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The second set was mostly a repeat of the first, with Alcaraz winning another double break before Musetti won his service game to take the score to 5-2. Alcaraz then served for the set, acing Musetti for 15-0 before going on to win the game and the match with relative ease.

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Carlos Alcaraz advances into quarterfinals!!! 6-2/6-2 over Musetti. #2023ChinaOpen

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