Seeking to win his third consecutive Masters 1000 title this season, second seed Carlos Alcaraz launched his campaign at the Cincinnati Open with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 win over Bosnian player Damir Dzumhur in one hour and 41 minutes on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
In his on-court interview, Juan Carlos Ferrero’s pupil outlined: “All I can say is I am happy to get the win at the end and just 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, which I have to be focused and ready for. I have a rest day tomorrow, to give myself the confidence back and hopefully be better in the next round.”
Following an emphatic start to action, the 2023 runner-up, who leads the ATP Tour with 49 wins this season, played a loose second set in which the Sarajevo-born made the difference with his performance on the return, recording a return rate of 283 compared to Alcaraz’s 49.
Eventually, the Murcia native battled his way through victory after a three-set test to secure his spot in the third round.
Next, he will either face off against the 26th seed Tallon Griekspoor or Serbian Hamad Medjedovic.
The Match as It Happened
The Spaniard produced a dominant display to set off proceedings on Center Court, breaking his opponent three times on his way to seal the first set 6-1 in just 28 minutes.
The three-time ATP titlist regrouped, making a strong start to the second set, when he found consistency in his baseline game to inch ahead and convert a double break, leading 4-1.
While the 33-year-old was playing freely, the two-time Roland-Garros champion continued to deliver an erratic showing, which the former capitalized on, serving out for the set 6-2, forcing a decider.
Across eight games, the Spanish player committed 16 unforced errors to his adversary’s just five.
The tight final set saw the 22-year-old hit first, breaking after an extended fourth game, holding to take a 4-1 lead.
Then, the former world No. 23 rallied, narrowing the gap to 3-4, breaking in the seventh game.
From there, the five-time Grand Slam winner powered to the finish line, breaking straight back and backing it up to close out 6-3.
Overall, Alcaraz fired 21 winners against 44 unforced errors compared to Dzumhur’s 11 and 35, respectively.
Earlier, American Reilly Opelka stunned sixth seed Alex de Minaur with a 7-6(6), 6-4 win in one hour and 31 minutes, moving on to the third round on home soil.
The Australian, fresh off his title run in Washington last July, failed to halt Opelka’s booming serve.
The world No. 73 won 76 percent of the points on his first serve and 69 percent on his second delivery, recording his first triumph over the Aussie in six meetings on tour.
Also, the 27-year-old saved all seven break points he faced throughout the contest, converting the lone opportunity he had.
Elsewhere, ninth seed Andrey Rublev, making his eighth appearance in a row at the tournament, overpowered 19-year-old Learner Tien 7-6(4), 6-3 on Grandstand.
Last week, Rublev made it through the quarterfinals in Toronto, falling to No. 1 American player Taylor Fritz.
Playing at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, the world No. 11 is looking to go further in preparation for the US Open.