Carlos Alcaraz conceded that he was far from his best as he scraped to a three-set victory over Damir Dzumhur at the Cincinnati Masters.The Spaniard, who is gearing up for a tilt at a second US Open title, did not have things all his own way in a match that swung this way and that.
After romping through the first set, he dropped the second in double-quick time, only to regain his touch to seal a gritty 6-1 2-6 6-3 success.
The 22-year-old admitted that the hot conditions in Ohio mean he is struggling to find his top level.
“I have to give myself chances during that match,” he said in his on-court interview. “Here, it is difficult to play great tennis.
“The ball flies a lot, goes super fast. You have to be ready to be in a good position in that result. That’s really difficult to make.
“You have to know that there will be a few points, a few games in the match, that you’re not going to feel good. You have to maintain the positive thoughts and keep it going in the right way.
“That’s what I learned, playing here in Cincinnati. I think today I did it pretty well. Just relief about getting the win.”
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It did not take Alcaraz long to find his feet, breaking to 15 in the third game of the match after his opponent pushed a forehand over the baseline.
Shortly afterwards, he had raced into a 4-1 lead, as Dzumhur failed to hold once again after sending a backhand long.
It was an ominous position for the Bosnian to be in, and things did not get any better as he continued to struggle on serve.
Just 28 minutes had elapsed by the time Alcaraz had taken the first set 6-1, breaking for a third time in a row after Dzumhur made a trio of unforced errors.
The second set could barely have been more different though, as the 33-year-old regrouped, and Alcaraz completely lost his radar.
After holding serve to win his first game in eight attempts, Dzumhur picked up his first break of the match, sealed thanks to a horrific shank that flew into the stands at the back of the court.
Dzumhur then comfortably held for a 3-1 lead, and at this stage had gone on a streak of winning nine points in 10.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, appeared to have completely lost his way, and, despite leading 40-15, he then dropped serve once more, attempting to serve and volley in a bid to change things up, but failing to find the court.
Dzumhur was playing some superb tennis by now, and even recovered from 0-30 to hold for a 5-1 lead and within touching distance of parity.
And although his opponent finally quelled the momentum by making it 5-2, it was too late to swing things his way, with Dzumhur holding for 6-2.
Three sets were therefore required to split the pair, but there was plenty left in the tank for both players given it had only taken an hour to get to this point.
It had also been a topsy-turvy affair, but Alcaraz finally started to come back to the boil, and he punished Dzumhur for wasting three game points at 2-1.
With the break, Alcaraz seemed unlikely to look back, and he duly opened up a 4-1 cushion when holding with a delightful drop shot from the back of the court.
The point of the match came in the next game, with Alcaraz racing from side to side and back to front to somehow clinch it after a sensational half-volley and a prodded forehand winner.
Dzumhur was undeterred though, holding for 4-2 before getting things back on serve, although he was given a huge helping hand as his opponent sent down two double faults.
That proved to be merely a bump in the road for Alcaraz who, aided by a pair of unforced errors, broke straight back when the Dzumhur also double faulted.
Now with a 5-3 advantage, he had broken Dzumhur’s resistance, and sealed a 6-1 2-6 6-3 success when his opponent pushed a backhand long.
“Pleasure as always,” Dzumhur was heard saying to Alcaraz at the net as they exchanged pleasantries. “Good luck.”
Continuing in his on-court interview, Alcaraz said: “I just feel like it was a rollercoaster. [I have] A lot of good feelings, bad feelings. All I can say is I’m just happy to get the win at the end.
“I will have another chance to be better. I will try tomorrow to have my confidence back, because today, it was a little bit tricky.
“Damir plays really smart tennis. I had to be really focused on that, ready for that. It’s a rest day tomorrow, to give myself the confidence back and hopefully be ready.
Norrie crashes out, Gauff through
Cameron Norrie struggled physically as he was defeated in straight sets by Roberto Bautista Agut.
The No. 32 seed made 29 unforced errors as he lost 6-4 6-3 in a match that lasted nearly two hours.
Coco Gauff who eased into the next round with a 6-3 6-2 success against Wang Xin.
The two-time Grand Slam champion, who crashed out at the first hurdle at Wimbledon this summer, converted each of her five break points across the course of the match.
Next up is a third-round clash with Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska.
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