​Carlos Alcaraz reached the semifinals of the ATP 500 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, defeating the former leader of the world ranking Dušan Lajović in two sets.

Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals of ATP Rio de Janeiro

Defending champion and top favorite at the tournament in Brazil, Alcaraz prevailed 6-4, 7-6(0) after almost two hours of play against the Serb, who is ranked 80th in the ATP rankings.

For the entrance to the grand final, Carlos will fight with the Chilean Nicolas Jarry (139 ATP), who eliminated the sixth favorite of the Argentine Sebastian Baez (35 ATP) with a score of 6-3, 7-6(3).

In the other semi-final, the Iberian Bernabe Zapata Miralles (63 ATP) and the British Cameron Norrie (13 ATP, seed #2) will meet.

If Carlos Alcaraz wins the tournament, he will tie with Novak Djokovic at the top of the ATP rankings (6,980 points each), but the Serb will retain the top spot (he has more points in Grand Slam tournaments, Masters 1000 tournaments and Tour of Champions).

The Rio Open takes place from February 20 to 26 on clay, is part of the ATP 500 category and has a total prize pool of $2,178,980. The untitled champion and main favorite is Carlos Alcaraz.