Carlos Alcaraz huffed and puffed into the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals with a 4-6 7-5 6-3 victory against local favourite Arthur Fils, who will be ruing his missed chances on Friday.

Four-times Grand Slam champion Alcaraz was made to sweat by the world number 15 but made the most of his opponent’s errors in the key moments to set up a semi-final against fellow Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

Fils made a blistering start against the world number three, surging to a 3-0 lead with two early breaks in the opening set.

Alcaraz fought back to retrieve one break and had four chances to level in the fourth game, but Fils held firm. The Spaniard eventually drew level at 4-4, only for Fils to break once more and move ahead 5-4 in a rollercoaster set.