Alcaraz battles through rain Garcia out
ISLAMABAD: Carlos Alcaraz battled through a rain break to earn his 50th win of the season, defeating Jordan Thompson 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 on Wednesday at the Cincinnati Open.
The top-ranked Spaniard will be bidding for his seventh trophy in 2023 as he prepares to defend his US Open title in less than two weeks. His victory took three hours and the world number one opened the third set when he served two love games and advanced to the second match point.
“I never played against him and the start/stop was not easy,” Alcaraz said. “It wasn’t easy waiting for the rain. “He played aggressively, I’m glad I got through. It was a long day waiting to play and then there was rain in the first set. “In the end I had to play at my best level, I hope that there will be better conditions in the next round.”
Alcaraz was tested by No. 55 Thompson, who is now 2-16 against top-10 opponents. The Spaniard had 32 winners and 41 unforced errors in the marathon. Including a 15-minute rain break and subsequent warm-up, the first set lasted nearly 90 minutes, with Thompson saving 10 of a dozen break points and losing Alcaraz’s first set point.
Alcaraz came back from a second-set breakdown to run away with the third as Thompson complained to the umpire about a misaligned racket that he only discovered late in the epic. In other matches, an inspired Gael Monfils put the finishing touches to the British exodus with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 defeat of 13th seed Cameron Norrie.
The veteran French showrunner’s left knee was twisted in the first set and the physio’s words of encouragement gave him the confidence to claim the win, which saw Britain go 0-3 on the day. The exit rush began with Andy Murray’s withdrawal from an abdominal injury in Toronto last week. In the other matches, Alexander Zverev beat former champion Grigor Dimitrov 6:2, 6:2.
Published in EDP BLOGS on August 17,2023.
