Carlos Alcaraz has made it simpler on himself second time spherical on the Madrid Open, reaching the spherical of 16 with a straight-sets victory over Grigor Dimitrov.
After struggling to a three-set win in his opener in opposition to unseeded Emil Ruusuvuori, Alcaraz improved to get previous Dimitrov 6-2 7-5 and keep on observe to defend his title on dwelling soil.
Alcaraz was nonetheless not at his greatest however sealed the victory by changing 4 of his six break alternatives in opposition to the Twenty sixth-seeded Bulgarian.
The world No.2 Spaniard – prime seed in Madrid – was damaged solely as soon as, within the second set. He completed with 16 winners and 4 unforced errors.
“We didn’t do some things well in that first match and it was clear that we had to get back to doing what we know, which is to go on attack,” Alcaraz stated.
It was the seventeenth straight victory on dwelling soil for the 19-year-old, who earlier this month gained the Barcelona Open for a second consecutive 12 months.
He subsequent faces thirteenth seed Alexander Zverev in a rematch of final 12 months’s remaining.
“I have great memories from last year in the final but I have to be really focused in that match,” Alcaraz stated.
“I know that Sascha (Zverev) is a really good player, a really aggressive one with good serves. I have to show all my skills.”
Two-time Madrid Open champion Zverev arrange the last-16 conflict by cruising previous qualifier Hugo Grenier 6-1 6-0 in lower than an hour.
“Today I felt great,” Zverev stated.
“Maybe Hugo was a bit nervous, first time in the third round at a Masters and that is big for any player.
“I’m blissful I stored my composure and that I’m by means of.”
Zverev, who had 26 winners and broke Grenier’s serve six times, won his Madrid titles in 2018 and 2021.
He is 21-3 in the tournament, having reached the quarter-finals in all five of his previous appearances.
Fifth seed Andrey Rublev improved to 10-1 on clay this season with a 6-2 7-5 win over Yoshihito Nishioka.
Rublev, who reached the quarter-finals in Madrid last year, won the Monte Carlo Masters two weeks ago.
He next faces Karen Khachanov, the 10th-seeded player who defeated home favourite Roberto Bautista Agut 7-5 4-6 6-3 in a match that lasted almost three hours.
Australia’s last-man standing Alex de Minaur is scheduled to take to the courtroom in opposition to Russia’s Aslan Karatsev on Monday night (AEST).
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
