Carlos Alcaraz downplayed any injury fears after beating Italy’s Luciano Darderi 6-2 6-4 6-0 to reach the fourth round of the US Open.The world No. 2 broke to love to take the first set over an error-prone Darderi in a mere 27 minutes.The second was far less seamless, as Alcaraz dropped his first service game of the tournament and battled through a knee injury.
But the Spaniard soon stepped up a gear, putting together a run of eight successive games to claim victory.
Speaking in his on-court interview, Alcaraz played down any injury concerns.
“I’m feeling good,” Alcaraz said. “It was just a precaution.
“I asked for the physio. I felt something that was not good in the knee but after five or six points it was gone.
“I just asked for the physio to take care of the knee because there was one serve left [in the second set] and I had to be ready, had to be good, had to feel good physically.
“It was a precaution. I will talk with my team but I’m not worried about it.”
Alcaraz added that among his biggest concerns ahead of the match had been overcoming the early start.
“I tried to stay awake,” Alcaraz admitted, referencing the match’s 11:30am start in New York. “That was important. We started at 11:30 so it’s good that I managed to play [my game].
“My first goal was to start well, to start focused, with energy and a good rhythm, and I think I started pretty well. I pushed him to the limit. Tried to play long rallies and get a rhythm with the serve and return.
“And after that I just kept it going. Today I played such great tennis. It was such a great performance and I’m really proud about it.
“I’m not an early person so for me it’s difficult to wake up in the morning. That was one of the good things about today. I woke up early, did my warm up. Played good.”
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