Carlos Alcaraz bested German qualifier Daniel Altmaier 6-3, 6-1 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters to book his quarterfinal spot in the ATP 1000 Masters on Thursday. The Spaniard brought his best to the court but had to work hard to hold his serve in the early games of the opening set.

Alcaraz also saved a break point in his second game of the match and admitted it wasn’t a cakewalk win for him as the scoreline might suggest. The four-time Grand Slam champion also bounced back after trailing 0-40 in the opening game of the second set.

Alcaraz showered praise on his opponent after the win.

“Honestly it was difficult, Danny is playing great,” said Alcaraz. “He’s a solid clay-court player with a difficult game: a lot of topspin shots and [he’s] really good physically. The score doesn’t show how difficult it was… I had to battle in the first set.

“It was good to get a break before the new balls, which helped with the serve. In the second set, I could be myself more, play more aggressively than in the first, and I took my chances.”

Alcaraz will face Arthur Fils in the quarterfinals, who stunned Andrey Rublev in straight sets. The 21-year-old admitted it is going to be a difficult contest against the Frenchman.

“I’m playing the quarter-final here in Monte-Carlo for the first time,” added Alcaraz. “It’s going to be really difficult against Arthur, who is playing great tennis. It’s going to be an interesting match, it’s going to be beautiful to watch and hopefully, the people are going to enjoy it.”