Carlos Alcaraz in the early hours yesterday battled through a rain interruption to claim his 50th win of the season, defeating Jordan Thompson 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
The top-seeded Spaniard is bidding for his seventh trophy of the year as he prepares for a US Open title defense in less than a fortnight.
His victory took three hours, with the world No. 1 breaking open the third set as he delivered two love games and moved through on a second match point.
Photo: AFP
“I had never played him and the start/stop was not easy,” Alcaraz said. “It was not easy to wait for the rain.”
“He played aggressive, I’m glad to get through. It was a long day waiting to play and then find rain in the first set. I had to play my best level at the end; I’m hoping for better conditions in the next round,” he said.
Alcaraz was tested by No. 55 Thompson who now stands 2-16 against Top-10 opponents.
The Spaniard had 32 winners and 41 unforced errors in the marathon.
Including a 15-minute pause for rain and subsequent warmup, the first set took nearly 90 minutes, with Thompson saving 10 of a dozen break points only to lose on the first Alcaraz set point.
Alcaraz came back from a break down in the second set and ran away with the third as Thompson complained to the chair umpire about an incorrectly strung racquet that he only discovered at a late stage in the epic.
Meanwhile, an inspired Gael Monfils applied the finishing touches to a British exodus with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 defeat of 13th seed Cameron Norrie.
The veteran French showman got his left knee wrapped in the opening set of the first-round match and took confidence from encouraging words from the physio to secure the win which left the UK 0-3 on the day.
The rush to the exits began with the withdrawal of Andy Murray due to an existing abdominal injury dating to last week in Toronto. On court, Lorenzo Musetti defeated Dan Evans 6-4, 6-3 before Monfils staged his comeback victory against British No. 1 Norrie.
In the WTA draw, the continuing career comeback of former No. 1 Carolina Wozniacki failed to ignite as the Dane went down to French lucky loser Varvara Gracheva 6-4, 6-4 in 96 minutes.
Wozniacki, 33, won her first comeback match a week ago in Montreal before losing in the second round to Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova.
Unseeded American Sloane Stephens, making her 12th tournament appearance, defeated holder Caroline Garcia 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the last 16.
In the women’s doubles round of 32, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Mexico’s Giuliana Olmos trounced Poland’s Magda Linette and the US’ Bernarda Pera 6-2, 6-4.
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