Carlos Alcaraz dropped just three games en route to the Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finals as he swept aside Alexander Bublik on Court Rainier III on Friday.

Alcaraz, who is aiming to become the first player since Stefanos Tsitsipas to go back-to-back in Monaco, edged closer to accomplishing that task with a dominant 6-3 6-0 victory. 

The Spaniard will face either Alex de Minaur or home hopeful Valentin Vacherot for a place in the final, where he could be set for another tussle with great rival Jannik Sinner. 

Alcaraz set the tone for his one-hour-and-three-minute win in the opening game of the match, getting the better of Bublik's serve, but his opponent returned the favour soon after.

However, the top seed regained his composure and reeled off the final four games to take the first set in style, and from there, Alcaraz kept his foot firmly on the accelerator. 

After eventually edging a close game at the third time of asking to kickstart the second set, Alcaraz stormed to victory without dropping another game, sealing his triumph when Bublik's attempted lob went into the net. 

Data Debrief: 300 up for outstanding Alcaraz

After his opening-round win in Monte-Carlo, Alcaraz conceded that his time as the world number one could be coming to an end, given Sinner's impressive Sunshine Double triumph. But here, the Spaniard delivered a performance that should give him hope of remaining the top dog on the ATP Tour. 

His victory was the 300th of his career, in what was his 367th match, with only Jimmy Connors (363) and Rod Laver (355) reaching that milestone quicker. 

Alcaraz has also now reached a 14th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, surpassing Lleyton Hewitt (13) for the third-most before turning 23 in the format's history. Only Novak Djokovic (17) and Rafael Nadal (25) are ahead of him. 

But he will face stern competition should he want to retain his crown.

The world number one, two and three have all made the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo for the second time since the ATP Rankings were first published in 1973, after Roger Federer, Nadal and Djokovic did so in 2008.