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The World No. 2 won 13 of the first 14 points of the match and closed out the first set in just 27 minutes, making up for a late start to his feature night match, after the Centre Court schedule was impacted by an extended rain delay earlier in the day.

It was a contrasting story in the second set, with Alcaraz trailing 2-4 before tallying four consecutive games to advance after 80 minutes. The 22 year-old won a lengthy, eight-deuce game at 4-4, during which Nardi double faulted on back-to-back points to allow the second seed to serve for the match.

“I think this match was the best so far for me in this tournament,” Alcaraz said. “At the beginning of the tournament, I just really wanted to get better every day, after every practice and every match. 

"I think I’m doing it, which I’m really proud about. I’m just really happy with the way I felt the ball today and the way that I moved.”

The Spaniard, who is seeded to meet World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final for the fourth consecutive tournament in which they have both featured, next plays ninth seed Andrey Rublev, who beat Francisco _Comesana 6-2, 6-3 to avenge last year's Wimbledon first-round loss to the Argentine. 

Rublev dropped six points behind his first serve and overwhelmed Comesana with his firepower to advance in 64 minutes.

A 21 time tour-level titlist, Alcaraz is seeking his first Cincinnati crown. He reached the final in 2023 and held championship point before rival Novak Djokovic stormed back to lift the trophy. Alcaraz holds a 51-6 season record, including five titles.

Alcaraz leads Rublev 3-1 head-to-head, including a Wimbledon fourth-round encounter last month won by the Spaniard in four sets. Their Cincinnati clash will mark their first meeting on outdoor hard courts.

Third seed Alexander Zverev led 14th seed Karen Khachanov 7-5, 3-0 when the Toronto finalist retired after 70 minutes of battle.

Khachanov beat Zverev last week in Toronto, where he saved a match point to escape the German. Zverev, who won the Cincy title in 2021, awaits Toronto champion and fifth seed Ben Shelton or 22nd seed Jiri Lehecka.