Carlos Alcaraz Wins First Match In Monte-Carlo, Fights Back To Beat Francisco Cerundolo
Carlos Alcaraz won his first-ever match at the Monte-Carlo Masters, defeating Francisco Cerundolo in a fightback in three sets. 3-6 6-0 6-1 in the Round of 32.
It was a hard-fought round for Alcaraz, losing the first set to Francisco, who delivered a sensational performance before he wore out. Alcaraz had to improve on his techniques to control the match against his opponent, whose groundstrokes were commanding the pace.
"I'm not going to say I was nervous about it," said Alcaraz in a post-match press conference. "But yes, it's one of the few tournaments where I haven't won a match."
The first set was in his control before Francisco overpowered him in the fifth game by winning a break to take the lead for a set win. The Argentine player could not live up to the challenge of a revamped Alcaraz in the remaining sets and was neatly beaten.
Alcarz took advantage of deploring drop shots and forehand groundstrokes to establish his control once again. In the course of the match, he won six breaks in eight advantages. He quickly established control with his second break in the second game of the second set, going on to claim his fourth break for a set win.
The intensity of the deciding set was exhausting for Francisco to deal with. Alcarz kept his groundstrokes deep to the court baseline, giving him the chance to deploring drop shots, leading to Francisco committing unforced errors. He broke two more times in the third set to claim the match point.
Although Alcaraz missed the previous two editions at Monte-Carlo due to injury, he was eliminated in the opening round by Sebastian Korda in his last participation. Nonetheless, he has won titles at other clay-court tournaments, including two-time champion at Roland Garros.
The match was Alcaraz's 100th match on the surface and his first in the Monte-Carlo Masters. In the next round, he will face Daniel Altmaier.
Comments
Post a Comment