Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz defeated Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild in the third round of the Madrid Open on Sunday, scoring another comfortable victory on the heels of his return from injury.
Two-time reigning tournament champion, Alcaraz won 6-3, 6-3 for a second straight triumph in his first tournament after missing Monte Carlo and Barcelona due to injury with one arm.
“I think I played at a really good level,” Alcaraz said.
“Before the match I was a little nervous because I didn’t know how my forearm would be. Thiago can hit with power. He is very strong. I’m really happy with my performance. It was a bit difficult at the end, at 5-0 then serving at 5-3. I’m really happy that I made it in the end. »
Second seed, Alcaraz made his tournament debut by beating Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 6-1.
“I think I’m in good shape at the moment. I don’t feel anything in my forearm and I played good tennis,” analyzed the 20-year-old Spaniard.
“Obviously I’m not hitting my forehand 100%… But I’m focusing on hitting my forehand as relaxed as possible. I’m really happy to be competitive without pain. »
Alcaraz, who is ranked third in the world, is trying to become the first player to win three consecutive Madrid Open titles.
In the next round he will face Jan-Lennard Struff, his opponent in last year’s final in Madrid.
Struff, 23e seeded, reached the next round with a two-set victory, 7-5, 6-4, against Frenchman Ugo Humbert, ranked 13e.
Furthermore, the Dane Holger Rune, 11e seeded, was shown the way out. He suffered a defeat in three sets of 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 against the Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (24th).
In other men’s singles matches, Andrey Rublev (7th seed), Hubert Hurkacz (8e) and Taylor Fritz (12e) all won their matches in straight sets.
The Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (21e) caused a certain surprise by eliminating the American Tommy Paul (15e), 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2.
Shapovalov eliminated by Zverev
Also on the tournament table on Sunday, Canadian Denis Shapovalov lost 6-4, 7-5 to fourth-seeded German Alexander Zverev. Zverev hit ten aces in the match and committed only one double fault, while Shapovalov recorded five aces and as many double faults.
The Canadian offered 14 break points to his opponent, including nine in the second set.
In the second set, Shapovalov saw the German break his serve in the first game, before making the same shot at the end of the match to make it 6-5. Zverev then confirmed his victory on his second match point.
Shapovalov only gave himself two break points in the duel, taking advantage of one of them.
Both athletes hit several winners in a match that ended after an hour and 45 minutes of play. Zverev hit 31 winners, while Shapovalov managed 25.
The left-hander, however, made many more unforced errors than the fourth seed, 18 to 7.
As for Montrealer Félix Auger-Aliassime, he must play his third round match on Monday against the Czech Jakub Mensik, in a duel that appears intriguing at first glance.
Aged 18, Mensik caused a big surprise on Saturday by defeating Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
Women’s draw: easy victories
Among the women, Elena Rybakina (4e seeded), Daria Kasatkina (10e) and Jasmine Paolini (12e) won their respective matches in two sets, like Kazakh Yulia Putintseva and Sara Bejlek, an 18-year-old Czech from qualifying.
Paolini easily eliminated Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia (21e), 6-3, 6-2.
Furthermore, the Russian Mirra Andreeva, who will celebrate her 17e birthday on Monday, surprised the Czech Marketa Vondrousova, seeded seventh, 7-5, 6-1.
The day was a little more complicated for the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, second seed, and for the American Danielle Collins (13e).
Sabalenka defeated American Robin Montgomery by a score of 6-1, 6-7 (5), 6-4. As for Collins, she had to come from behind to defeat Romanian qualifier Jaqueline Cristian, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
