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Rising Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz acknowledged it was a tough battle against No. 4 seed Marton Fucsovics but he was happy that he managed to escape with a win. Alcaraz, seeded at No. 15, overcame Fucsovics 6-3 0-6 6-2 in the Winston-Salem Open round-of-16.
“Well it has been a great match, a really, really tough match. In the second set I went down absolutely... and I went up [on] my serve a little bit to start the third… I [thought] I could do it. Really happy to get the win,” Alcaraz said in his on-court interview, per the ATP website.
“In this match, I didn’t feel comfortable playing the long rallies. I started to… hit as hard as I can to try to make the points shorter”.
Alcaraz bounced back from a horrendous second set
Alcaraz saved break points in three games, before earning the first break of the match in the eighth game to take a 5-3 lead.
After earning the first break of the match, Alcaraz routinely served out for the opener in the following game. Missing out on break point chances and opportunities didn't affect Fucsovics, who bageled Alcaraz in the second set to force a decider.
After dropping six consecutive games, Alcaraz started the third set with back-to-back breaks and a 4-0 lead. There was no way coming back from Fucsovics as Alcaraz served out for the match in the eighth game. Elsewhere, home favorite Frances Tiafoe edged out Brazil's Thiago Monteiro 7-5 7-6 (2).
“It was two tight sets, quick sets I felt like. I was holding pretty swiftly but would not be happy to be playing a third set,” Tiafoe said. “Tonight I served unbelievable…. If you can loosen up from the back a little you can go for it because you’re so confident. Hopefully I can serve like that the rest of the week”.