World no. 1 Carlos Alcaraz scored his 56th ATP win of the season in the Paris Masters second round, beating Yoshihito Nishioka 6-4, 6-4 in an hour and 12 minutes. The young Spaniard will finish the season as the year-end no. 1 player if he achieves two good results in Paris and Turin.
He struggles a bit with left knee pain but looks eager to give his everything in the next couple of weeks. Alcaraz fired nine aces and dropped nine points in ten service games. A teenager lost serve once from the only break point he faced, and Nishioka had to follow that pace to stay competitive.
The Japanese lost ground on the second serve and got broken three times from six chances offered to the world's leading player. It was all about Carlos, who hit 29 winners and 23 unforced errors and controlled the pace. Yoshihito followed the rival's pace in the mid-range and the most extended exchanges.
Carlos Alcaraz is off to a winning start at the Paris Masters.
However, his weak serve could not give him any chance in the shortest range up to four strokes, taking 18 points fewer than the Spaniard and hitting the exit door.
The Japanese made a strong start and held at love in the encounter's first game. Carlos responded with a forehand winner in game two, and Yoshihito delivered another hold at love for 2-1. Alcaraz locked the result at 2-2 with a volley winner at the net and created two break chances when a left-hander sprayed a forehand error.
A teenager converted the second with a winner at the net and built his first advantage. Carlos confirmed the lead with a hold at love in game six and landed a backhand crosscourt winner in the next one for a break chance. Nishioka denied it and brought the game home to remain within one break deficit.
Yoshihito broke back at 15 in game eight to level the score at 4-4 and remain competitive. The Japanese sprayed a forehand mistake in the ninth game to experience a break point, and the Spaniard seized it with a forehand crosscourt winner for a 5-4 lead.
Alcaraz wrapped up the set with a forehand winner in game ten for 6-4 in 36 minutes. With a boost on his side, Carlos dropped two points behind the initial shot in the second set and kept the pressure on the other side. Nishioka fended off a break chance in the first game with a smash winner, and they stayed neck and neck until 4-4.
The returners claimed only four points in seven service games, and it all changed in the ninth game. The Spaniard created break points with a backhand down the line winner, and he seized the first with a forehand crosscourt winner that sent him 5-4 ahead. Carlos held at love in game ten with a service winner for a winning start and a place in the third round.