Rotterdam, Feb 5 (IANS) Top seed Carlos Alcaraz avenges his loss to Van De Zandschulp last year at the US Open with a hard-fought victory at the Rotterdam Open on Wednesday (IST).
The Spaniard was put through his paces, but prevailed 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-1 against Dutch wildcard Zandschulp to advance to the second round at the indoor hard-court ATP 500.
Alcaraz, who was stunned by the Dutchman in the second round at the US Open last year, struggled to find his range throughout the testing clash. Yet the 21-year-old regained his composure to motor through a dominant final set and seal a two-hour, 33-minute victory, ATP reports.
Despite boasting 16 tour-level titles, Alcaraz is yet to reach a championship match indoors. He will next play against qualifier Andrea Vavassori or two-time titlist in 2025, Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round.
There was also something physical hindering Alcaraz, who arrived in Rotterdam with a cold and played with a piece of tape on his nose to breathe more easily. “I don’t feel 100 per cent yet. I’ll need a few more days for that. But the key was to stay mentally strong. And luckily that worked. It was also a great match for the fans in that sense,” said the Spaniard.
On the other hand, Holger Rune advanced to the Rotterdam second round for the third consecutive year after defeating recent Australian Open quarter-finalist Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4), 6-4 in two hours, 11 minutes.
The fifth seed collected his 44th indoor win since the start of the 2022 season, second only to Felix Auger-Aliassime’s 53. The 2022 Paris Masters champion next faces Spain’s Pedro Martinez and will attempt to improve his break point conversion rate, which was 2/13 against Sonego, according to ATP Stats.
–IANS
bc/
Disclaimer
The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The information is provided by TodayIndia.news and while we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.
In no event will we be liable for any loss or damage including without limitation, indirect or consequential loss or damage, or any loss or damage whatsoever arising from loss of data or profits arising out of, or in connection with, the use of this website.
Through this website you are able to link to other websites which are not under the control of TodayIndia.news We have no control over the nature, content and availability of those sites. The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.
Every effort is made to keep the website up and running smoothly. However, TodayIndia.news takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, the website being temporarily unavailable due to technical issues beyond our control.
For any legal details or query please visit original source link given with news or click on Go to Source.
Our translation service aims to offer the most accurate translation possible and we rarely experience any issues with news post. However, as the translation is carried out by third part tool there is a possibility for error to cause the occasional inaccuracy. We therefore require you to accept this disclaimer before confirming any translation news with us.
If you are not willing to accept this disclaimer then we recommend reading news post in its original language.
