Roberto Bautista Agut had never played Carlos Alcaraz on grass before. They had played twice before, once on a hard court and once on clay. Alcaraz, the ATP No. 2, had won each match in straight sets, but the last time they played was in 2023.
One of he issues for Bautista Agut in the semifinals of the HSBC Championships against his fellow Spaniard was that Alcaraz is even better than he was the last time the two had met, but the older Spaniard has not progressed very much. He is a good player, but he isn't Alcaraz.
Perhaps no one is on grass courts currently. The 21-year-old has won the last two Wimbledon titles and appears well on his way to winning number three. He is in the form for doing so, especially after taking his second straight French Open title earlier in June.
Carlos Alcaraz defeats Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets in the semifinals of the HSBC Championships
Bautista Agut did not play poorly, but he simply doesn't have the skills to compete with Alcaraz. What aspect that separated the two on Saturday was how powerfully Alcaraz was serving. In the first set alone, he had nine aces and only one double fault. His opponent had zero aces, and while landing 75 percent of his first serves, he only won 59 percent of his first serve points.
Alcaraz was also the more aggressive player. Bautista Agut did not have a lot of unforced errors, but he didn't have many winners either. Alcaraz was too busy pumping forehands past him that he couldn't touch.
Bautista Agut was successful when he came to the net, but Alcaraz was more so and came to the net a lot more. The older Spaniard was having issues playing for the baseline as Alcaraz kept pushing him backward.
Alcaraz was playing efficiently, and an efficient Alcaraz is nearly unbeatable. He finished with 36 winners against only 19 unforced errors in the 6-4 6-4 victory, and that is the kind of tennis that is going to give him an easy run to Wimbledon when the event begins on June 30.
Next at the HSBC Championships, Alcaraz will take on Jiri Lehecka in Sunday's final. That will likely be a fairly straightforward straight-set victory for the Spaniard.