Carlos Alcaraz is yet to find his best form on the hard courts as his preparations continue for the US Open, which gets underway on August 28. Alcaraz lost to Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals in Toronto last week and survived a scare to beat Jordan Thompson in Cincinnati on Tuesday evening. The round-of-32 match did not finish until 1am local time due to a rain delay early in the first set.
Carlos Alcaraz recorded his 50th win of the year with a 7-5 4-6 6-3 victory in his opening match at the Cincinnati Open.
It was a hard-fought victory for the world No. 1, who struggled to play at his best level in the rain-interrupted match on Tuesday night
Alcaraz came from 4-2 down in the opening set to edge it after making 26 unforced errors.
Thompson responded by taking the second set before Alcaraz eventually produced some better tennis to see out the match which lasted just over three hours.
The round-of-32 meeting, which did not finish until 1am local time, got off to a disrupted start following a 20-minute delay at 1-1 in the first set.
“It wasn’t an easy match but I found my best level at the end,” Alcaraz said.
“We were waiting around all day to play the match and then when you step on the court you have to start with the rain, so it wasn’t easy.
“But you have to find a way to win these matches in this type of situation.”
Alcaraz surprisingly lost to Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals in Toronto last week, but with coach Juan Carlos Ferrero back with him in Ohio this week, the Spaniard will be looking to retain his world No. 1 spot with Novak Djokovic also competing at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament.
Djokovic begins his campaign against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday.
Alcaraz must reach the final at least in Cincinnati to prevent several scenarios which could see Djokovic reclaim top spot.
The 20-year-old, who has a 50-5 win-loss record for the year, is looking to land his seventh title this year after tournament victories in Buenos Aires, Indian Wells, Barcelona, Madrid, Queen’s and Wimbledon.
Alcaraz will play either Ugo Humbert or Paul in the last 16.
