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BASEL, Switzerland — Top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz will face No. 9 Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Swiss Indoors semifinals after both advanced in straight sets Friday.
Alcaraz, who won the US Open last month, clinched a 6-3, 6-4 victory0 against fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta with a service winner.
“It is difficult to play against a friend like Pablo,” the 19-year-old Alcaraz said in a postmatch interview on court. “Every day we go and have dinner, lunch together.”
Auger-Aliassime hit 31 winners and made just four unforced errors in a 6-2, 6-3 win over Alexander Bublik.
The 22-year-old Canadian is seeking a third straight title — after wins in Florence, Italy and Antwerp, Belgium, this month — and has not faced a break point on his serve in three matches at Basel.
Auger-Aliassime landed in Alcaraz’s half of the draw as the third-seeded player in Basel. Second-seeded Casper Ruud lost in the first round to three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, who lost his quarterfinal 7-5, 7-6 (5) to sixth-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut.
A second 19-year-old, Holger Rune, took his place in the semifinals by beating unseeded Arthur Rinderknech 7-6 (0), 6-2. The 25th-ranked Rune is aiming for back-to-back titles after winning last weekend in Stockholm.