Local favorite and No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz had to work hard to beat Russia's Karen Khachanov in the heat to reach the semifinals of the Madrid Open on Wednesday.

The world No. 2 will play either Borna Coric or Daniel Altmaier for a place in Sunday's final.

Alcaraz, who celebrates his 20th birthday on Friday, beat the 10th seed, 6-4, 7-5, after fighting back from 5-2 in the second set.

"I had problems in the second set, he had a lot of chances to break my serve and had his chances to win the second set," Alcaraz said.

"I am very happy to get through and finish the match playing such a great level. This is my game: to try and make different shots and make tennis different. That is my style," he added.

In the women's singles, Russian 12th seed Veronika Kudermetova reached the biggest semifinal of her career with a 6-4, 0-6, 6-4 win over American third seed Jessica Pegula. 

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