Carlos Alcaraz in shock scenes amid Alex de Minaur and Jannik Sinner development

Carlos Alcaraz has suffered a shock loss to Nicolas Jarry in the semi-finals of the Argentina Open, with the World No.2 crashing out of the tournament he won last year. Jarry, the World No.21, prevailed 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 in Buenos Aires on Saturday - continuing a difficult time for Spanish whiz-kid Alcaraz.

The two-time grand slam champ was ousted in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open last month and hasn't looked nearly as good as he did last year. He hasn't played in a final since last August, or won a title since he beat Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final in July.

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The defeat to Jarry marked Alcaraz's fourth loss on clay in his last 31 matches since the start of 2023. It was also just his third loss in the last 49 matches against players ranked outside the top 20 in the world.

Jarry had lost both of his previous match-ups with Alcaraz, but the Chilean shocked the tennis world on Saturday. The 28-year-old has won all three of his ATP titles on clay and will be gunning for a fourth when he faces Facundo Díaz Acosta in the final.

"Third time lucky," Jarry said of his first career win over Alcaraz. "Carlos is one of the best players so it means a lot, especially after the battles I've had a couple of days ago. It's been very tough physically, so I'm very happy to be able to come back. I didn't start very well and couldn't win points on his serve, but I came back little by little."

Díaz Acosta entered his home tournament as a wild card at a career-high ranking of 87. He defeated fellow Argentine Federico Coria 6-2 6-3 in the other semi-final - the first time he'd ever made the final four of an ATP event.

Alex de Minaur and Jannik Sinner advance to Rotterdam final

Meanwhile, two of the hottest players on the ATP tour in Alex de Minaur and Jannik Sinner advanced to the final of the Rotterdam Open earlier on Saturday. De Minaur played Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-final - the second year in a row in which he was faced the Bulgarian on his birthday.

It was Dimitrov who won in 2023, but de Minaur got his revenge on Saturday with a 6-4 6-3 victory. "I'm extremely happy with the level throughout the whole match," said the Aussie, who has ensured he will rise to a career-high ranking of World No.9.

"It was probably one of the better matches I've played from start to finish. Even saying that, I always know that Grigor is going to lift his level and compete until the end, and I had to fight off some pretty tough break points, when I came up with some of my best tennis. From the word go here in Rotterdam, I've felt a very calm presence. I've felt positive, I've been calm and collected throughout whole matches, and I think that's been a big key for me."

Sinner has also broken new ground in the rankings after the Australian Open champ beat Tallon Griekspoor 6-2 6-4 in the other semi. It means the Italian will rise to World No.3 and become the highest-ranked Italian male in tennis history.

Unfortunately for de Minaur he went down to Sinner in the final, losing 7-5 6-4. The Italian now owns a 7-0 head-to-head record over the Aussie, who impressed with his level of play in the final.

"It doesn't really matter what's happened in the past," Sinner said before the match. "I saw him play today. He played really, really good. I hope I can also play some good tennis tomorrow."

with agencies

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