"Always fantastic", "I admire you" - Carlos Alcaraz and Gabriela Sabatini share a moment of mutual appreciation at Argentina Open

Carlos Alcaraz and Gabriela Sabatini recently shared a heartwarming moment of mutual admiration, at the ATP 250 Argentina Open in Buenos Aires.

Alcaraz made his return to the ATP tour at the event, after a four-month-long absence due to injury. He defeated Laslo Djere in a challenging encounter in his opening match of the tournament. But the teenager had an easier outing in the subsequent round, beating Dusan Lajovic while conceding only six games.

Alcaraz expressed his happiness at being back to winning ways after he registered his first win of the 2023 season.

“It’s a great feeling to win again,” Alcaraz said in his post-match interview. "It’s been a long time for me, no competition and no matches, just recovery. And finally, I got my first win of 2023."

Carlos Alcaraz and Gabriela Sabatini met during the tournament too. Alzaraz posted a picture of the two posing together and thanked Sabatini for coming out to see him play.

"Thank you very much Gaby for coming to see me! Always fantastic!" Alcaraz wrote on Twitter.

Gabriela Sabatini replied to the post and expressed her admiration for the Spaniard and congratulated him for all of his achievements.

"It is wonderful to see you play @carlosalcaraz, congratulations for everything you are achieving, I admire you," Sabatini replied.

The Argentine legend has been very supportive of the tournament and has often been seen enjoying her time watching the matches play out.

"The absolute queen of Argentine tennis and her well-deserved ovation on an unforgettable night of #ArgOpen2023," the tournament's Twitter handle posted.

Carlos Alcaraz is through to the semi-finals of the Argentina Open

Alcaraz at the Argentina Open

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Dusan Lajovic, 6-4, 6-2 to book a spot in the semi-finals of the Argentina Open.

The 19-year-old suffered an abdominal injury during his match against Holger Rune at the Rolex Paris Masters in November of 2022. He was subsequently forced to pull out of multiple competitions, including the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup Finals.

His 2023 season debut was then postponed owing to a leg injury, causing him to withdraw from the Australian Open. The long layoff forced Alcaraz to relinquish his World No. 1 ranking to Novak Djokovic.

Carlos Alcaraz will face Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the semi-finals of the Argentina Open. Zapata Miralles defeated fourth seed Diego Schwartzman in the quarter-finals.

Alcaraz currently leads the head-to-head between the two 1-0, having won their previous encounter at the French Open in 2021.